


Blood Moon

by JadeofRen



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, star - Fandom
Genre: Alpha Ben Solo, Alpha Rey (Star Wars), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, And a family counselor, Dyad is as Dyad does, Earn your HEA, Emotional Constipation, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Bond REMIX, Force Dyad (Star Wars), Gingerose, Knotting, M/M, Mawwage, NO WOLF SEX GUYS, Past Child Abuse, Rey Needs A Hug, Rey is...Rey. Which is stubborn., Reylo - Freeform, Romantic Angst, Scenting, Slow Burn, Stormpilot, Tags Are Hard, lots of ships, or is she?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:13:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 199,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22353157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeofRen/pseuds/JadeofRen
Summary: The Blood Moon Festival, the catalyst brought on by tragedy to usher in calamity, wants a new bonded pair...Two Alphas.Which they get....Except someone is lying.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Kylo Ren/Rey, Leia Organa/Han Solo, Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 228
Kudos: 341





	1. as the blood moon comes (prologue)

**Author's Note:**

> This started off as something else, and then it became this THING, eventually, a few years later. 
> 
> Clans? Check.  
> Wars? Check.  
> Jade mishandling court politics? Yessir.  
> Arranged Marriages? Check.  
> Throw in some (a lot) of A/B/O? Sweet.  
> Force Bond? YEP.  
> Rey and Ben being Rey and Ben? ABSOLUTELY.

_“We write our own destiny; we become what we do.”_

**Core Clan Village: Takodana**

Rey’s thumb rubbed over the engraving on the back of the watch her father use to own. Old thing, almost rusted over from disuse. The second hand didn’t work, which meant it was impossible to tell time. So, time stood still, symbolic inertia of how things around her were always changing. It also reminded her that memories had the ability to change, morph over time. But here, this watch, and her memories of its owner never did. This was her watch, now. Her destiny. Her time to stand still and unmoving in the ideals set in her.

Hers.

That was important because it symbolized her father’s dream of what he envisioned of Rey’s destiny. What Brenton wanted for his youngest daughter, and what Brenton would do to make sure his daughter achieved it.

So, Takodana was also hers.

Rey didn’t resent him—she could never, she loved him far too greatly for such an emotion. It’s just…this, his vision, the one _she_ was enacting? It was exhausting. _She_ was so tired, the kind of lethargy that was marrow deep.

But she’d continue to keep up the ruse. Filial honor and all.

Often, she thought about a different Rey, one without a family, one who had to survive on her own, a harsh environment that was exacting and severe. Here, she was not alone. And she never would be.

“I’ve never lost a damn bet, Syfen! I won’t lose one today!”

Rey tilted her head towards the village tavern, a frown pulling her lips down at the corners.

“Five! No fifty golden Lycans! Maybe that’ll shut your big fat mouth up!”

There was _a lot_ of ruckus today—people shouting at one another, threats and insults and good cheer that rang and echoed across the thoroughfare, loud booming laughter as bets were being placed, bullshit was called. A few fights had broken and the one between Syfen and Clid sounded ripe for the next bout.

Too bad—she would rather make this trip, _needed_ to make this trip and everything else took a back seat.

Even leadership.

Gunner could handle it, possibly, maybe Li'an. It most certainly didn’t need to be her.

As she passed the fountain, Rey swore she saw a crop of jet black hair in the crowd of villagers headed straight for her. She squinted, then groaned. _Fuck_.

Paige, her First.

Stubborn woman was ducking and dodging through the market–fare traffic, waving like a madwoman in Rey’s direction, and Rey cursed again. Not—right—now!

Whatever it was, it could wait!

She stuffed her collapsible staff down the back of her pants, and pivoted hard, heading in the opposite direction of the woman making a beeline for her. She didn’t blame Paige—it was her job, to assist and inform and protect Rey—but at the current moment, she needed none of that.

 _“Sometimes, just sometimes, I wish I had chosen a First, a Beta who would fret over me like a mother hen, or follow my wise command,”_ Coriander had told her so many years ago. “ _But Julian—and don’t tell him I said this, he’d have a fit!— he’s just as fussy as one, so, it works out.”_

Another bit of wisdom from her sister, another memory.

“How are you today, Rey!”

Rey paused for only a second to wave at Fahjay, the interim castellan, before speeding up.

_Damn it, I should have brought a cowl…or something!_

She hooked a sharp corner at the end of the alley and began her trek down the backroads of Takodana. This was the long way around, but it was worth it—you know, exercise? Stealth. All of that.

The back way wasn’t paved, never had been. Her father said dirt was good, kept people sharp, let them know that all innovation wasn’t necessary. That was one thing she disagreed with as she followed the dirt road with trenches dug deep from the numerous trips carts and wagons made on it. It rained recently so it was just mucky and wet—yuck. She moved to one side, head bowed, as a cart full of young excited youths passed by, screaming and cackling just as hard as the men in the tavern. They were headed to Coruscant. Soon, everyone would be headed to Coruscant.

Soon the dirt road led to the forest surrounding Takodana and Rey broke out into a sprint. She loved when the grey and black morphed into lush greens, a canopy of verdant life above her. Here is where Coriander taught her to hunt, Julien helped her perfect her bow. Her father, Brenton, would sit her on a stump and teach her all the things he knew.

And here, in this same forest, is where the lies built by the ones she loved began to crumble.

Rey shook her head to clear it, noticing her destination. Nestled on the far side, near the open plains that lead to Coruscant, was Salamanders.

With one last look behind her to see if anyone had followed—an old, ingrained paranoia that would never leave her—Rey dipped under the wooden awning and into the threshold of the shop.

No sooner than the flap glided over her shoulder did a loud “You’re late!” echo through the small market.

“I know!” she groaned from the doorway, adjusting her coat collar she’d flipped up in a poor attempt to go unrecognized. “Couldn’t help it. All five clans are in a kriffin _frenzy_ because of the festival. It took everything in my power just to get here unseen. Stealth and speed aren’t often the best of friends.”

“No harm done, pup. Hurry up and get in here. I have things to do.”

Rey entered the main store showroom, glancing at the shelves lined with herbs and roots and things that she would never, _ever_ question him about. Scowling, she leaned across the counter to try. “What are you reading?” she asked as she leaned over the counter, trying to peek at the title. “Bet it’s something like “ _How to Appear Like a Saint Even Though I Overcha—?_ ”

Her head snapped back when the book slammed shut.

“It’ll be five golden Lycans,” Maz said, holding her hand out.

Rey gave her a look. “I’ve been doing this for a handful of decades, I know how much it cost,” she bit back as she dug the money from her pocket and dropped the coins into Maz’s hand.

“Gotta keep my favorite girl sharp!” Grinning, Maz bit the end of a gold Lycan before dropping it into her safe. Once her money was locked away, she reached under the counter and withdrew a box tied closed with twine, sliding it across the hard wood surface and into Rey’s hands.

Rey loosened the twine and looked down into the box with a relieved twist of her lips.

“Supply is running a little low this month. Finn was here earlier, so you’ll find yourself two short.”

“Was he, now?”

“Yep! He said, and I quote, ‘Only makes sense. Someone needs to have an emergency stash.’ You know, I’m starting to believe he thinks you are an idiot.”

Rey snorted. “He does. I’m used to it.”

Maz leaned forward, eyes large behind her goggles, and balanced her chin on the tips of her fingers, looking down curiously as if she hadn’t put the box together herself. “Who do you think it’ll be,” Maz asked as Rey emptied the contents of the box into a small bag tied at her hip. “For Supreme Alpha?”

Rey sighed and twisted until her back was up against the counter. “For the Blood Moon Festival? Poe for sure. He is Dinfire’s best fighter, his mother and father fought in the second Shifter wars—practically _legends_. He’s worldly, if not arrogant and annoying at times. Still, a sure contender for Alpha Beta’an.”

Maz hummed in agreement. “And Supreme Alpha?

“Ben. He’s the strongest, smartest, and fastest. Certainly, has the surly personality of a leader. All the girls seem to love him and any Omega within a mile shot of him goes absolutely mad during heat. The choosing will be intense, that’s for sure.” Rey chewed on her thumb. “Two Alphas. It’s been centuries since—”

“You don’t think it’ll be you?” Maz interrupted, forehead wrinkled in that way that meant she’d asked her previous question for particular reason.

Rey chuckled, albeit a sadly. “I don’t even know _what_ I am anymore, Maz. I’m not a true leader. I’m not a true anything.”

“Contradictory statement!” And Maz bopped her on the head with the end of a pestle. “You can’t _not_ know what you are and then proclaim what you _aren’t_. You lead Takodana as Alpha well enough; you know.” The small Salamander shifter leaned over the counter and rested her chin on Rey’s shoulder. “Things happen for a reason, my love. And everything isn’t as simple as biology. Your father knew this and that is why you have that,” she offered, sagely, before pointing to the bag on Rey’s hip. “At a discount might I add.”

Rey laughed. “This is why you don’t do deals with retired pirates! Parsimonious hag, you are!”

“You are damned right!” Maz sat back on her stool with her hands balanced across her lap. “Alright, go on, pup. There will be a lot of celebrating tonight and I won’t have you in here looking pitiful and sad. Not when there’s a mate out there somewhere just waiting for you to notice them from across the den! Go on! Get out of here. I want to hear all about this wolfish soiree when you come back.”

Rey pushed the box back across the counter and made her way to the door. “Ha! Me. A mate?” She laughed good and loud. “They would have to be able to _smell_ me in order for that, don’t you think?”

**Core Clan Village: Alderaan**

The rain felt good, cleansing in a natural way, a way that swimming in the lake never did. Ben sat back on his hind legs and used his large black paw to scratch behind his ears. Poe padded up behind him, brown fur soggy with rainwater, joining him under the large oak that sat just outside of the Core’s perimeter. Dangerous thing to do for any ordinary wolf, shifting amongst the feral animals, but Ben and Poe didn’t take kindly to being called ordinary.

Trotting over to his pile of clothing hanging on a low branch of a tree, Ben concentrated, his eyes flashing a dark red. Muscle rippled along his body and he felt his bones cracking and shifting and aligning as his fur receded back under his skin. It was painful, shifting, but after a while, you got used to the discomfort. Sometimes, that discomfort made you stronger, allowed you to shift faster without second thinking what happened when bones and muscles had to reform themselves into something new.

Soon, he was able to stand his full human height and the adrenaline rush that came with shifting caused his red eyes to slide close, a thrill, a sharp tingle, down his spine. When he opened them, he knew they’d reverted to their brown hue. When the feeling finally receded, he exhaled, centering himself before dressing.

“We should have paid closer attention to the time. I think it’s time to head back,” Ben declared solemnly as he looked up at the rapidly darkening sky with a frown. “Lando said that we needed to be in place by nightfall.”

“Oh, ho,” Poe said as he joined Ben at his side. “Feeling nervous, old dauntless friend of mine? Don’t be. You’ll be our leader and it’s not because of some silly prophecy. You belong at the head of the pack.”

Ben grinned, the tip of his fang poking over his lips before it drew back up into his gums. “I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about who I’ll be mated with.”

Poe’s brow rose as he pulled his pants up over his hips. “Does it matter?”

“Yeah. Because it could be _you_ and that’s pretty fucking disgusting.”

Poe rolled his eyes and Ben threw an arm around his neck. “I don’t think our combined arrogance could survive a mating. Plus, you’d kill me before the honeymoon was over, Poe. You’re so _strong_ and _manly_. I’d faint as soon as you touched me!” Ben playfully batted his eyes at one of his oldest friends, his best friend to be honest.

“You know what?” Poe said. “I hope that happens. That would make me a legend. Poe Dameron, the only Alpha shifter alive able to kill of the infamously brave and eternally stupid, Ben Solo.

Ben snorted. “Dickhead.”

“True.” Poe laughed and shrugged Ben’s arm off so he could shuffle into his shirt. “You _really_ believe in this two Alpha bullshit? It doesn’t make any sense. It’s not like we’re going to war. And stars just think what are the outside clans going to say? Bespin and their fucking gossiping! Yavin! Lah’mu! They’re probably laughing now as we speak. You know, we’re the only ones who follow these ridiculous ritual—"

Ben clamped a hand over Poe’s mouth. “Be a good pup and shut up.”

“Get your mutt hands off me!”

“Race you back to the village!” Ben shouted as he took off running, ignoring Poe’s sputtering.

“This doesn’t even make sense! Why do Betas have to go in the first place? It has nothing to do with us!”

Jacen glanced over from his magery worktable to his twin sister, Jaina, as she brushed her hair, eyes trained on the mirror and not on him. “Jaina. Are you even listening to me?”

“Am I listening to you complain? Yes. Do I care? Nope,” she said, popping her P, which infuriated Jacen more than her blatant disregard for his complaints. She laid the brush down on her vanity—which, really was half vanity, half magery worktable; a cluttered mess—and twisted towards him, an excited gleam in her eyes. “Do you think Finn will be there? What am I saying, _everyone_ will be there.” She hummed deviously before turning back to the mirror and brushing her hair, humming Leia’s song.

“Really, Jaina, enough already! Stop barking up that tree before that tree’s potential mate named Poe _kills_ you.”

Jaina rolled her eyes before glaring at him in her mirror. “You say that like he isn’t going to be selected as Alpha Beta tonight. Everybody knows it—at least that’s all the girls are squawking their beaks about. And once that happens, once he’s out of my way, Finn will be all mine.” Jaina looked back in the mirror and her eyes flashed the same color red as her lip stain. “I’m going to corrupt that delectable Omegan ass if it’s the last thing I do.” She paused. “You think he likes being tied up?”

Jacen eyes rolled towards the sky. “That’s _so not_ something I want to hear, you succubus. Keep your jacked up sexual fantasies a secret.”

Jaina sniffed. “Grow up.”

Jacen pulled off his shoe to throw it at her but stopped when he heard their back door open and close. He craned his head around the corner and saw Tenel putting down a large hemp bag before she made her way to the back room where the twins slept.

“Tenel,” Jaina simpered without turning around, her face pulled up close to the mirror to apply some kohl around her eyes. “Can you please tell this incomprehensible fool that the Blood Moon Festival is going to be fun, that Ben will be disappointed if his two favorite siblings—”

“We are his only siblings!”

“— don’t show, and most importantly that he should take a fresh bath if he wants to dance with you at least once tonight because we all know his penis is sexually attracted to you.”

“Jaina!” Jacen cried, the tips of his ears going red.

“What? It’s the truth. Don’t be shy, Jacen. A shy wolf never found their mate that way. Isn’t that right Tennie-poo?”

**Core Clan Capital: Coruscant**

“Ben Solo of Alderaan.”

“Present.”

“Hux of Endor.”

“I am present.”

“Poe Dameron of Mandalore?”

“Hey, Lando!”

“Phasma of Kashyyyk?”

“Present.”

“And Rey Kenobi of Takodana.”

“Here.

Lando glanced at his scroll one last time before rolling it up and it tucking it away. “Listen up, pups. Each of your names were listed as prophetic nominations for the position as Supreme Alpha of Core. Although the nominations are open to any Alpha in this clan, you wouldn’t be Alphas of your prospective villages if you all weren’t tough as shit. So, here we are. You know what that means, right?”

When no one answered, Lando took a long moment, his eyes touching each shifter in the group. “It means lucky you! You get to participate in a ritual older than time itself. One of you will be Supreme Alpha and the other Alpha Prime of Core. Very powerful, very sexy.”

Hux groaned. Phasma winced.

“Now, it wouldn’t be fair not to give you pups a chance to back out. After we enter the festival grounds the results are binding. ”

Silence. “Good. Now if you’ll just—"

Hux, looking almost bored with the whole thing, boldly raised his hand. “Question, if I’m allowed.”

Lando bit back an annoyed growl. “You are.”

“There is a mix of us and there is very small chance, say Phasma or Rey are selected as Alpha Prime, that an Alpha male can impregnate an Alpha female. How are we to continue the bloodline if—?”

“You’re forgetting Revan and Bastila Shan, Red.” And on cue, Hux grimaced at the nickname. Lando had nicknames for all of them, but they only appeared when they were getting on his nerves. “It’s possible. Or if could be like Gungar and Holdo.” Lando shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, really. This is not about that. Supreme Alpha and Alpha Prime are not royalty, as we do not have royalty, so, no royal line, no royal baby, no royal mess.”

“Yes, but—”

“Look Hux, you can try and climb Phasma like a tree if you want. Maybe you’ll get a baby, maybe you won’t. Or, if selected, go find an Omegan concubine. Or hell, woo a Dothamir tribute. I don’t care what you do with your cock, just let me finish.”

Hux began to sputter out another argument but stopped when Phasma not so surreptitiously elbowed him.

“Any other questions?”

More silence. Lando loved smart shifters.

Lando tilted his head back to look at the still white moon. “Go take your places then.”

The candidates all lined up across the width of the festival grounds as Lando, Baron Elder of Core, took his seat at the center of the rostrum. To his right was the Elder of Delphi, Durteel Haza, staring out at them with warm, yellow tinted eyes. To his left was the Elder Dowager, Holdo, widowed Alpha Prime mate to the deceased Supreme Alpha, Gungar.

She glanced his way once, a faint smile on her lips before she looked out to the crowd and Ben frowned. She looked aged; grey hair at the temple of her vibrant purple hair, lines across her brow, eyes gone rheumy and grey. Holdo was his mother’s oldest and dearest friend and it hurt him to see her like this. He hadn’t seen Holdo smile since her mate died. Her grief, considering all things, must have been considerable.

 _I never want to feel that kind of pain,_ Ben thought.

Gungar’s death had been the catalyst for the prophecy. Blood Moons are not timed events; they are rare, and their appearance could not be calculated, no matter how brilliant the scientist or how devout the spiritualist. They appeared as an effect of something cataclysmal and are said to usher in something cataclysmal.

They—although Ben didn’t know who ‘they’ were—say that while out on a hunt, a Mountain Ash bloomed from Gungar’s palm. He would brush it away, and another one would bloom in its place hours later. For three days and three nights, he repeated it—brushing the flower away, watching it bloom, brushing the flower away, watching it bloom. On the morn of the fourth day, he woke up and announced that he would die.

“As the Blood Moon comes, the Blood Moon goes.”

The shock he gave his Bonepack must have been astonishing. Still despite their cries, despite their pleading, Gungar went up on to the cliffs of Appenza Peak and stayed there, refusing to hunt, refusing to accept hunted meat, and refusing to see his mate until he passed. Seven days later, the Blood Moon Prophecy was revealed.

Now, two Alphas were to lead the pack.

He hoped, as she glanced up at the moon, that when the torch of leadership was passed from her to another, she would at least find some peace.

**Core Clan Entity: Delphi**

“Tell me again—why is this is a secret?”

“Because however wise and gracious Durteel Haza is, he just can’t get with the times.”

“What does this have to do with ‘the times’, Jessika? We’re lying about _biological_ hierarchy, here!”

Jessika waved her off. “Lying is such a disgusting word, Kaydel. Tweaking the interpretation is what we’re doing. That blasted moon wants an Alpha bonded pair and that’s what we are giving it!”

_Giving! They weren’t supposed to be giving the moon anything!_

Kaydel chose to keep quiet, instead opting to stare blankly at the Oracle acolyte in front of her.

Jessika may be a goddamn prodigy, but Kaydel was convinced she had moonsickness of the head—which wasn’t say much for her because here she was! Helping her! Again! As she placed a scroll in Jessika’s hand, she wondered, briefly—because if she thought about it any longer, she’d run her head into a wall—if her Oracle status would prevent the lashes they would surely get for this. There must be some mandate that would protect her skin after tampering with the gods’ will. Something in these blasted texts that would save her!

Jessika, the youngest between the two, looked down from the cliff where their temple was situated. Their temple was small, only having a room for them and the other eight acolytes to live, the library, and the archive. And of course, the Oracle Pool from where they drew their visions from. Small, comfortable, and secluded but the powers granted in and through it made up for the size.

The carmine tinted moonlight shifted until it was almost centered over the pool. _Stars_. _It’s almost time._

The Blood Moon Festival brought forth the need of prophecy, and it was up to Jessika and Kaydel to interpret said proffered prophecy, interpret it and transmit it to the Elder of Delphi. There transmission would name—decide—who would be the Alpha leaders of Core.

It was one of the most important things to Core, its leadership. Core was what was left after the First Great Shifter War. Revan and Bastila Shan were able to stop the fighting between the five neighboring that had lasted _centuries_.

The Five– _Alderaan, Endor, Mandalore, Kashyyyk, and Takodana–_ were now collectively called The Clans of Core and its center, Coruscant. Core’s power, Core’s fire, was funneled from the Five and into Coruscant—the best from the Five honored Coruscant, providing members for its council, its army, its arts and culture, its Oracle, and most importantly, the Supreme Alpha.

Tonight, Jessika and Kaydel were playing with fire. Should the Alpha Prime to the Supreme Alpha be a bad choice, the people of Core would look to their mountains for answers—and justice. However, if the Alpha Prime was a good match, Core would praise them.

“It’s time!” Jessika grabbed Kaydel’s hand and yanked her over into the Oracle Pool. “Fate rest in our hands and I happen to believe we have good hands. Good, powerful, _wise_ hands.”

“Yeah,” Kaydel snorted. “Please don’t use the word fate when we’re actively fucking with it. Thank you.” Still, she walked to her position in the pool, the water drenching the hem of her iridescent white gossamer robe as she stared down at the Aurebesh symbols engraved into the floor. “Concentrate. Might as well ruin our lives correctly!”

Jessika obeyed her elder and followed suit. Soon, the blood moon shifted into place and light seeped directly down through skylight, washing them both in a halo of crimson and scarlet. Power poured into them, and with it, the gods’ answer. Kaydel’s eyes rolled into the back of her heads, as did Jessika’s as they communed with Durteel Haza down below.

Too bad they wouldn’t be communicating the prophecy to the letter.

Kaydel frowned.

Too bad, indeed.

Finn glanced at Rey from the crowd of spectators held back by the large golden braided twine that roped them off from the center of the festival grounds.

_She’s really doing it. Tuh._

Finn had tried to talk some sense into his best friend this morning. He’d listed all the reasons why this was a terrible fucking idea, but as usual, Rey was the most stubborn wolf he knew and no amount of common sense was going to get through her rigid structure of sensibility.

“Think about Finn. How will that look? I already have enough people in this clan looking at every move I make because I’m not their original choice! Withdraw my name and embarrass the whole clan? Takodana will _riot_.”

 _Whatever. Be an idiot,”_ Finn thought, scowling. _Next time I’m swapping those pills for anise. See how you like that!_

He sighed one last heaving sigh before glancing up and over Hux, his gaze locked on Poe.

_Might as well get one good last look, then._

The light from the torches soaked the Alpha from Mandalore’s body, washing over his tan, smooth skin, and the strong and powerful lines his body made. So, Finn not only stared. He ogled. It wasn’t _too_ big of a crime. Not like Poe had ever bothered asking him to be his mate. Unmated shifters could look at whoever they damn well pleased.

He continued to look until the sharp combination of too many half-naked Alphas with their glands all uncovered wafted through the air and—heavens. He wasn’t sure how some of the Omegas with weaker constitutions hadn’t fainted or gone mad already. Well, that was the one good thing Gungar did in Finn’s opinion—created suppressant oflas. Out the corner of his eye, he saw one, green haze wafting from the burner but stars, they needed a few dozen more!

Guess that’s what you had to deal with on a day this big.

Really, what a spectacular way to find out who you were going to be mated to! Ben of Alderaan was obviously the only choice for Supreme Alpha. No contest. He didn’t care how crazy the gods were—they would be daft not to choose him.

The popular choice—overheard at the salon where he sold most of his products—was Poe for Alpha Prime. It kind of felt like he’d been kicked in the chest.

There was a bright side to this, though. If he couldn’t have Poe—actually there wasn’t a bright side to this.

Finn’s musings were cut short when the shifter hovering over the drums slowed his upbeat jaunt to a measured, steady pounding. Silence fell over the crowd and the rest of the musicians followed suit, sounds of flutes and strings whittling away.

Finn shoved his way closer to the front.

“Fucking Omega,” someone whispered but it lacked the bite to offend or frighten him. When he pulled just short of the rope, he saw Tahiri, one of Delphi’s acolytes, laying bowls of water before each prophetic candidate.

He glanced from her to the bowls of water, knowing what came next.

_Here comes the stupid part. You think they could be a little less…dramatic? Mysterious? No. Drugging them was a sound idea. Nerfhearders._

Durteel Haza was up on the rostrum; his eyes rolled back, the torpid whites of his eyes catching the firelight, looking like some kind of demented monk. There was one solid beat from the drum and Durteel Haza blinked, his yellow eyes flying back in focus. The Elder of Delphi stood and withdrew five vials from the deep pocketed sleeves of his robe.

Finn wasn’t the most proficient in _Delphidian_ , so he only caught a few words falling from the Elders of Delphi’s lips. **Chosen, fate, decided**. Fluff, nonsense.

_Just tell us already._

Durteel Haza walked in front of the candidates, stared at them at length before handing a vial to Tahiri.

“Phasma.”

Soon Tahiri was flying to the bowl belonging to the candidate from Kashyyyk, emptying the contents into the bronze container. Durteel Haza handed her another the moment she returned.

“Hux.”

She repeated her actions, upturning the vial into the Alpha of Endor’s bowl until it was empty, then returning to Durteel Haza’s side. This continued with Ben, Rey and Poe, all receiving a different vial.

“Sip once, twice, thrice.”

The nominees nodded, faces somber and serious before lifting the bronze bowl to their lips, sipping once, sipping twice, and on the third sip, draining the bowl to the last drop.

“Now, we wait.”

Minutes passed, too long to be counted but not short enough for anyone to lose interest in the ceremony. The crowd was absolutely silent, absolutely still, absolutely enraptured as they stared on.

A body dropped.

Finn almost jumped out of his skin. The first one to succumb to the strong elixir from their bowl was Poe. Poe! _He’s so strong, though!_ But the shock wasn’t long lived. He smiled big and bright. Hardly appropriate considering. But shoot! Maybe it isn’t of them the end after all.

More minutes passed, but it wasn’t long before the next person passed out. Hux rolled forward, knocking his bowl over before fainting with an angry growl. Someone from Endor cursed under their breath before someone else shushed them. In mass, all eyes shifted to the remaining three.

Finn noticed Rey was still amongst the candidates, which was _virtually_ impossible, biologically and rationally, but it wasn’t like Finn was going to say that out loud. He watched her sway and couldn’t help when a frown replaced his smile. Finn was worried to death.

_She is going to be so sick in recovery! Her body isn’t made for this. This was such a stupid idea!_

Finn turned, frantic, trying to find Maz in the crowd. Maz should have talked her out of this instead of hyping her up with some ‘know thyself’ bullshit. If Rey died because she wanted to keep her stupid secret, I’ll never forgive her or that old pratty witch pirate!

Before he could locate the herbalist, there was a loud thud of another body hitting the hard packed dirt. Finn almost bit his tongue in his hurry to whip around.

_Rey?_

No.

No.

Phasma. It was Phasma’s body sprawled across the dirt.

_No way. No way!_

Two bodies remained, although their chest heaved as they sucked in air, fighting for the strength to remain upright.

Ben Solo was sweating, huge broad chest rising and falling as he struggled against the elixir. It was clear he was losing the fight and his body was growing tired. Yet, his state was times better than Rey’s.

Rey looked half dead. Completely exhausted. Second from keeling over. Green eyes lolled back and forth in her head and for a moment, she lost control. Her body began to shift–fangs poking past her bottom lip, nails elongating into claws, and fur seeping past skin to cover her nape and back.

Durteel Haza came forward and stood before Ben and Rey. Lando came down for the rostrum as well, followed by Holdo, both standing on either side of the two shifters.

Holdo, tall, elegant, smart and times more powerful than most of the wolves in Core, spoke:

“As the Blood Moon comes, the Blood Moon goes.”

Following her cue, the crowd looked to the sky. The red tint that bled onto the moon’s surface began to recede, not stopping until a brilliant white poured down on them.

Finn’s eyes shot wide as Holdo bent to kiss Rey across the lips. She smiled at her before moving to Ben, kissing him the same and sealing their positions.

“Core now has their Supreme Alpha and their Alpha Prime. Bow and show your deference.”

The crowd dropped to their knees and raised both of their hands towards the moon in supplication. “Rise, Supreme Alpha,” Holdo said looking at Ben.

Even with legs the size of logs, they wobbled like reeds as he stood, taking big lumbering twisting steps so he could face the crowd. He took a long moment, gathering his bearings. They crowd was patient and stayed put until they were commanded to do otherwise. When it seemed he was strong enough, he shifted, growling with exhausted as his muscle and bones aligned into, not the shape of a wolf, but into his mightiest form—Lycan.

He rose to his full height, towering over the Elders and his new mate. Golden eyes swept over the crowd as he held his head high.

“And now rise, Alpha Prime.”

Finn stared, absolutely gobsmacked, as Rey heaved forward, so very clearly out of energy. But she was strong and resourceful, and as she tipped forward, she caught herself, a hand wrapping about Ben’s wrist. He looked down at her, and something in those manic eyes softened. He pulled her up, not letting go until she could steady herself. It would have been somewhat romantic if they both didn’t look like death warmed over.

Holdo reached out to put a hand on Rey’s shoulder, but Rey shrugged her off gently, her eyes beseechingly soft. “I…got it,” she said, her voice rumbling out of her. With lethargic- heavy steps, Rey turned towards the crowd as Ben had. She was shaking and Finn was seconds, _seconds_ from climbing over the rope and forcing her to sit down—because damn all of this!—but miraculously, Rey proved him wrong, again, by transforming into her Lycan form–smaller, thinner, but still every bit as formidable as Solo.

“Show your pack your fangs.”

Both Lycans obeyed, tipping their heads back and howling at the moon. As their howls echoed off the trees and the mountains, their pack howled back.

It was official. Ben and—this was impossible—Rey, were the Alpha leaders of Core.

Finn almost fainted.

_No. Fucking. Way._


	2. mistakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins...

_Years, and years ago_

**Core Clan Village: Takodana**

Some would say that Brenton Kenobi was a proud man. He was, just not in the way most people expected. Sure, he was the son of the great “Old Ben” one of Gungar and Holdo’s highest ranked generals, an Elder of Core and Gungar’s spar master. Yes, he was a Kenobi, groomed by the intellect and strength of Kenobi men, nurtured and made tough by Kenobi women, yet softened by the love of one Dothamirian mage and made born again through the love of his children.

Brenton was a leader. He was an Alpha. He was fair, and just, and cared about his people.

He held his head high when he walked through the streets of Takodana and when he spoke, his voice took on a stately tone, like gravel being laid flat over a road. His voice commanded attention, so much so that any shifter, wolf or otherwise, fought to give it to him. He was patient, kind, handsome for his age, and the most liberal leader of The Five.

And that’s what Rey Kenobi would say any time someone from outside their village would ask him about her father.

Kenobi’s leadership was different not only from the other Alphas of Core, but from previous Alphas of Takodana. Where some of them ruled closed fist, outlawing things they considered unnatural, letting extremist have carte blanche within their walls, Brenton Kenobi lifted prohibitions of magecraft and gave little leeway to the likes of those who’d threatened them in the past.

Still they questioned him— _Why are so many outsiders are allowed into Takodana? Why did you build an entire outbuilding for Black Squadron when we don’t even know what they do? Why won’t you take another mate?_

_Those_ sorts of questions. The ones that tended to piss Rey off. How could they look him in the face and ask questions about replacing her mother? But Rey was young, and the villagers took her snarl—all teeth and lips pulled back over her gums—with amusement. They would pat her on the head, scratch behind her ears. Treat her like a child.

“Feisty little thing they would say.”

Which would only make Rey even angrier.

Takodana was green. Maybe not as green as Endor and certainly not as green as Kashyyyk, but it was green enough. Like her eyes. Rey had her mother’s eyes, hints of chartueses with flicks of emerald and hazel, striations of colors than held their variants even when her eyes shifted colors. Maybe that’s why it made her so mad. Because if she could see her mother in her eyes, if that’s all she had left of her, then why couldn’t they see it?

They’d actually _known_ her.

On the days her father would take council at the fountain on the far side of town, a man would show up, enthusiastic and mouthy, like he had a say in the way Brenton led Takodana. Despite Rey’s distrust, her father would greet him warmly with a loud laugh, pull him into a hug, and sit him to his left.

This man was older than Rey but not as old as his father. His face was different from the wolves of Takodana too, the sort of fetching Rey read about in her books of Alpha Princes and Omega queens—white hair, chiseled cheekbones, sturdy chin, nice teeth. Coriander, her sister, explained when she’d caught Rey practically growling at him, that he was an Arctic white wolf shifter, that he was rare, and that’s why his face looked like that. He was beautiful because Arctic wolves were beautiful.

Rey turned her nose up at that. The man didn’t look all that much to her. Plus, Coriander only said stuff like that because she was always giving him googly-goo-goo eyes every time she thought no one was looking. Honestly, it was sort of disgusting. But she got it, everyone got it. It was a decade past Coriander’s mating year and since she was to inherit Takodana as their next the Alpha—A Takodanaian tradition—she had her choices of mates.

Julien Akshay of Hoth, a clan far, far north of Core, ended up being that person. The townspeople said he was a frost Alpha, but Rey knew her sister and she knew her sister was five times as strong as him. No! Ten!

Not that Julien cared what anyone said about him. Not when he was staring at Coriander like he was lost without her. Whatever. As long as he took care of her. That’s all that mattered. Love, not so much, but support, comfort, care?

Important.

As she watched her sister’s mating ceremony at the large lake hidden on the eastern side of the village, she wondered how much their mother would have loved to see this. Coriander wore a flower crown of dried pointy red _Hydraatis_ from Dothamir and graceful yellow _Tashtors_ , honoring both their mother and their father’s home clans. They often said that Coriander looked just like Reyn. She was, undoubtedly, the closest thing to a mother Rey had.

Years passed and Rey grew older as Brenton began training Coriander and Julian to ascend. Rey was made something of a steward, where they all could learn how to lead as a family Although, if she were honest with herself, Rey would rather hang out with the unmated Alpha and Beta wolves of the village because they allowed her to hunt with them. And she loved it—the soil under her paws, the wind howling past her ears. It was another thing Coriander taught her. Rey’s sister was an open book of knowledge, and she never hesitated to tell Rey everything that she knew.

At least that’s what she thought.

Tomorrow was Rey’s birthday and she absolutely, positively could _not_ get to sleep. Above her, a mural of Core was painted across her ceiling, sweeping arcs of white and pale yellow, and forest green, a cheap imitation of the wall spanning map of Core in her father’s office. It reminded her of how she met Finn. He stomped into their house one evening, uninvited—a trait of his, she would grow to learn—and demanded that he be allowed to hunt. If not, a summer apprenticeship with a weapons maker.

Finn was denied the request because there were some customs that would be hard for even Brenton to convince others to accept, but he did take the time to teach Maz’s adopted son how to whittle a knife. “Young Omegas need protection, too. And it is my job to make sure you all are kept safe.” He’d glanced at Rey and motioned her over and although Rey found it highly unnecessary, she sat by Finn and learned what her father had to teach.

Finn had carved her a knife a present for her Declaration as an Alpha of Core. He said he would have another present for him tomorrow, but he wouldn’t give it to her until she won at least one of the village games.

Maybe that’s why she couldn’t sleep. She was just…excited! She’d been waiting for this day more than her Declaration! What’s another year when tomorrow, she had a chance to prove to the entire clan that she was an adult, she was strong, an Kenobi Alpha, like her father, and mother, and sister.

The excitement wouldn’t die down, not even when she tried counting backwards.

_A drink. Maybe if I get a warm drink, I’ll fall asleep. That’s it._

Rey climbed out of bed, her long, lean legs hitting the floor with a thump. She _was_ getting taller, almost a head above all the other female wolves in the clan, Alpha or not. Soon she’d be as tall as Julien and then Julien wouldn’t be able to call her a puppy anymore.

She trudged down the hallway, feet dragging along the way, rounding a corner towards the kitchen. The partition was closed which was…odd. A thin beam of light was shining through it, which meant that Father, Coriander, and Julien were still up. It was very late into the night.

_Guess they couldn’t sleep either._

She began to push the partition open but paused, hand raised, when she heard hushed noises through the wooden slats.

“She’s going to have one, she’s going to have one soon, and then it’ll be too late.”

“Don’t you think I know that, Julien?”

“Okay? So, what are we going to do? Everything will unravel if _they_ find out. Uncle—discovering what happened to mother? Stars. He’ll be out for blood.”

_Mother?_ _Why would Uncle Rax fly into a rage over what happened to Mother? She died in childbirth…_

A tired sigh. “I know, Coriander…I know. We will do as we’ve always done. Protect. Make sure that son of a sithspawn he never finds out.”

Rey continued watching through the partition slats as her father reached into a bag sitting at the center of the long wooden slab they used as a kitchen table. He poked around inside a bit before he withdrew two smaller herb bags tied closed with pieces of red string.

Brenton laid the two bags onto the table. “Maz said it would mask the scent. Alter it, eventually. Possibly change it.”

“Change it?” Julien asked.

“Yes. Undetectable. No different from any other Alpha. May interfere with mating but I’d rather this than Gallius finding out.”

Coriander shook her head and looked into the fire burning on the other side of the room. “No mating? That’s,” she glanced at Julian. “That’s horrible.” She took one of the bags from off the table.” Is that safe to take?”

“Salamanders don’t lie, and we know Maz would cut her hand off than do harm. Especially to this family. Although, there may be side effects.”

“Like?”

“Won’t know until they appear. Biology and all. We just have to follow her instructions.” Brenton paused. “I…I used it earlier tonight.”

Coriander looked horrified, Julian shocked, but Brenton held out his hand and laid it on top of his daughter’s. “It works, Coriander. It _really_ works. An hour later, the scent…it shifted. I’ve never smelled anything like it before. It’s there but it’s… uncategorizable. ”

_What are they talking about?_ Rey glowered, confused and angry. _I am a grown woman already. An Alpha of Takodana. A Kenobi Alpha! I should be included in the adult conversa—_

Rey froze when three heads swung in her direction.

_Oh!_

Rey pivoted on the balls of her feet and tried to hurry back down the hall. She’d only made it a couple of steps before the partition slid open.

“Rey.”

She winced, shoulders hunching up. She froze, like maybe if she didn’t move, he would lose track of her? Like what Coriander taught her about stalking prey and have something larger stalk _you_ as prey. 

“Rey Kenobi.”

Cursing under her breath, she turned, but was smart enough to keep her head lowered, showing due deference to her father. She stared down at her bare feet until two larger ones came into view.

“How long have you been standing there? What did you hear?”

Rey mumbled the answer under her breath because to be honest she wasn’t sure _what_ she’d heard but father’s growl vibrated across the floor and up and through her feet. She wanted to run, shrink back into the shadows, go back ten minutes to when she was still in her bed.

“Speak up,” Brenton commanded softly. He didn’t yell. In all her years alive, she’d never once heard her father raise his voice—which she hated because his lectures and admonishment always sounded like disappointment. Yet, it was a testament to Brenton’s power as an Alpha. He didn’t have to raise his voice. People knew, instinctively, driven by something primal and old, ingrained into them all, to obey.

“I heard all of it, I think. Or—”

“You should know how rude it is to eavesdrop. Had you done this around someone else, they may have reacted differently than I did. Violently. Rashly. Do not do it again.”

Rey nodded before peeking up from under her long shaggy bangs. “Who are you guys talking about? Why do they need to smell different?”

Her father froze, as if he were stuck, mouth hanging open, before something akin to relief washed over his face. “It’s nothing you have to worry about.”

“But!” Rey started, “But what you said about Mom? What does Uncle Rax—”

“Rey.“ Brenton’s voice was stern, razor sharp, full of command weighed heavy with his authority as an Alpha and Rey—she should be able to fight against something like that. It shouldn’t affect her the way that it does, the want to apologize and ask her father for forgiveness, for a way to make it right but it did. Yet, Rey knew better. She dropped her head again, whining in the back of her throat and Brenton sighed. “These aren’t things you need to be worried about yet, Tashflower,” he said, a little softer. “I’ll explain everything to you soon. I promise.”

Rey nodded her head, eyes still cast downwards.

Brenton bent forward until he was looking up into her eyes. “Big day for you tomorrow huh? Your birthday, the village games. Shouldn’t you be sleep? You’ll need all your strength if you want to beat old Julien there in rabbit hunt.”

Rey raised his head, her eyes bright and challenging. “I could beat Julien with a nap and a paw tied behind my back!”

Julien, who was leaning over the table and looking down the hall, rolled his eyes. He snorted when Rey puffed out her chest.

“Well, then you go get your nap and make it a long one. If you think I’m going to let a little puppy like you get the best of me, you’ve got another thing coming!”

“Oh, ho!” Coriander said, standing up, faux outrage all over her face. “Look here, Julien. I taught her _everything_. I’m putting my money on my sister!”

Julien’s head swung to his mate, mouth rounded in an O of surprise. He reached over, grabbed a dish rag, and threw it at her. “Why you treacherous, sneaky little!—"

“One hundred silver Lycans on Rey Kenobi!”

Brenton stood, patting his daughter on the head as his oldest bickered playfully with her mate.

“Go to bed, flower. I’ve got my money on you, too.”

Brenton winked and Rey knew everything was okay.

“Yes, Father.”

Still, as she retreated back to her room, the concerned looks on her family’s faces, the hushed whispers, the urgency, the fear…would not leave her.

_Present Day_

Rey sprang up like a coil had been released, a scream caught in her throat. Which was odd because just moments ago, seconds, she’d caught in the blissful unaware lull brought on by the somatoll laced water Durteel Haza drugged them with. It was as if her heart was catching up on the beats it missed while she was unconscious. It was positively slamming in her chest, and _stars_ , her head felt like the cosmos were rearranging themselves inside of her skull—explosions and implosion all suffused with some sort of primordial pounding that was sure to grow.

The room pitched back and forth like wind caught ocean waves. Rey narrowed her eyes, blinking the grogginess away because—

Where _was_ she?

A tent? Yes, a tent, massive and lofty with bantha hide that had been tanned and softened and stretched over massive columns of white birch wood. The sigil of Coruscant was seared into the hide—a stylized phoenix inside a sunburst. So, at least she knew she was still in Core.

Flames crackled over a burning wood in a fire pit towards the center of the room and long grey and white tendrils drifted up and out of the tent through a smoke hole. Through it, Rey could see the early grey of morning.

_Something…happened last night_ , she thought, holding her head in her palms. Rey sniffed once, twice, absently scratching at her gland. The somatoll made it itchy, and not in a good way. In the bad way, the way her medication used to make her whole body feel. That aside, it didn’t smell dangerous. There was this lingering scent, familiar yet…abstract, as if she’d smelled it plenty before but had never applied memory to her olfactory awareness of it.

Another mystery that she was not ready to solve right now. Because her head wouldn’t stop—

Wait.

Hesitantly, Rey turned like she was recounting a dream.

Like she was recounting an absolute impossibility….

_Fuck. Karking, krffin fuck—_

There he was. The owner of that scent—heady, deep, powdery, woodsy, almost...creamy. It was _delectable_. Always had been.

And that scent, wrapping her up in a cocoon of reassurance and security was reminding her that…

Ben Solo, Alpha of Alderaan was her foreordained mate. No… not Alderaan. _Core_. The Supreme Alpha of Core.

And she was…

And she was…

_Dear Maker, what have I done?_

The sort of panicking Rey was known for was internal chaos. Nothing on her face changed, she looked as calm as the clouds in the sky. Inside of her, however, was reacting like lit gunpowder. She could feel her heart pounding out of control again—in her chest, against her wrist, and thumping up against her neck as she started at the slumbering Alpha across the room from her.

_I have to get out of here!_

Yes. Of course! She was needed in Takodana. Absolutely. No one else could do it. She didn’t even have any close relatives she could think to call to take her place. Not that Beaumont Kin counted. She wasn’t even sure if he was actually a Kenobi. And it was by marriage—and, yes. She was panicking. Extremely.

Plan A. If she could escape before the bonding ceremony, then they could pretend this never happened. Although, she’d never actually paid attention to any of her history lessons on Blood Moon paired mates, so they’d just probably drag her back, kicking and screaming. So. Okay. Plan B—

“Could you…” Rey’s horror was an alive thing, slithering up her throat like a viper as she watched Ben’s eyes fluttered open. “Calm down? You’re driving me nuts. My heart’s going crazy in my chest.”

“What are you talking about—"

“Imprinting, Rey. I’m beginning to imprint on you. Happened quicker than I imagined. I can…”

Rey stopped moving. Breathing. Blinking. “You can…what?”

“Feel your heartbeat in my chest. Stars, that feels weird. Do some deep breathing, meditate, go back to sleep—anything so you can calm down. That can’t be healthy. For either of us,” he muttered.

Rey didn’t calm down. She _couldn’t_ calm down.

Ben wasn’t exactly a stranger. None of the Alphas were, but it wasn’t like they were friends. Matter of fact, she made it her business not to be close to any of the other leaders. Still, as the Alpha of Takodana, and Ben, the Alpha of Alderaan, communication between the two villages was unavoidable.

Core held a quinquennial summit on the other side of the glittering cliffs of Appenza Peak, where the elders of each village, their council and their Alphas came together with the elders, council, and Alphas of Core to vote and make decisions. Political things: announcing mating ceremonies, arranging marriages between Dothamir, the feral camp of mage wolves east of Core, and suitors from the Five.

Boring political things.

She and Ben had sat side by side in some of these sessions that would go on all hours of the night, sharing food and drink, sometimes telling him a joke or a story. There was one time, though, where deliberations for some silly law Lando wanted passed stretched into the early hours of the morning and they’d decided to use each other’s backs for a quick nap in between breaks.

Those were things _almost_ friends did. Yet, even with all of that, she didn’t _know_ know Ben Solo. She wanted to because Ben was damn attractive and strong and very good at what he did but she couldn’t. She could only do what was best for Takodana and Takodana needed her to stay as she was: the unmated Alpha of their village.

Unmated Alphas could concentrate on their duty. Unmated Alphas didn’t have people out to kill them for who they were. Unmated Alphas kept their business to themselves. But if what Ben was saying was true, he was going to find out a wealth more than she was willing to share, and he was going to find out very soon.

_Imprinting? Stars take her!_

“You’re not calming down.”

_You’re fucking right I’m not!_

“I…think this was a mistake.” Rey’s eyes flitting around in the bed looking for her ceremonial garb. Because—and she looked down—they’d undressed her. This place! D _id they think we would be bonding tonight? They had four moon phases before that should happen!_

“It was. I was hoping for Phasma,” Ben said, grumbling as he tried to wipe the sleep out of his eyes.

Rey pulled a face. _Well, you don’t have to be so blunt about it._

“However the gods never make mistakes and if they do, then it’s not one.” He appraised her from his cot. “So, no. It’s not a mistake.” Ben sat up in his bed and his fur coverings drifted down his chest—oh, _no_ —and fell further and further until—

Rey’s eyes dropped to his lap like a stone and she looked away just as quickly. _Definitely_ an Alpha.

Ben followed her gaze down, smirking. “My body responds well to you, but I always knew it would.” He returned to look at her—and Rey wasn’t imagining things—and his eyes darkened as he leaned on a forearm. “I’m looking forward to our mating.”

“I’m going to pretend I never heard that.” No. It was absolutely time to go. Plan A. No, Plan B? This was why she never mated, and this was why she kept to herself in Takodana. Because of this. Biology. Nature. But it shouldn’t be working. She didn’t smell like—anything. Nothing. She smelt like nothing. So why was he _looking_ at her like that?

Rey dropped a hand to the other side of her bed, fingers splayed as she felt around for wherever her clothes could be. She heard a rustling, probably Ben going back to sleep or going off for a piss and she didn’t care.

Her _. Alpha Prime of Core? Ridiculous_.

She needed to speak to the Oracles, and she needed to speak to them now!

_Aha!_ Rey located a pair of pants folded neatly in a basket under the bed, almost out of her reach. Tilting further, she tried again, her fingertips just brushing the wicker. Then her thumb caught on the handle and she pulled back.

And…

There was heat on her neck, a warm wash of breath tinted with the ingredients of somatoll.

“You know, you’ve always smelled…weird.”

Rey flew back in the bed, hitting her against a wooden column. “Damn it!”

“It’s good though. It’s like nothing I’ve ever smelled before and I’ve been trying to figure it out for decades.”

Ben was practically on top of her with one knee balanced on the bed. She shifted towards him as the bed dipped.

And Rey made the mistake of inhaling because like this, with his breath skimming across her exposed gland, and with nothing else to distract her from it, she got a nose full and—and it was like the opposite of her. Where she was nothing, a void, he was everything.

_Too close, too close, too close, too close, too—_

Like a shot of lightning, Ben’s hand buried itself in Rey’s hair, tugging her head back. “Stop fidgeting. Tip your head back”

And just like that, just like Ben had her on some kind of Ben voice command, Rey bared her neck. It was instinctive and something deep, something she’d thought she’d buried, tried to respond in full force but it couldn’t, not earnestly. Not when Rey was three decades deep with daily medications that made it damn near impossible.

But—

It was just enough because Rey had to, wanted to, needed to bend to his will. The will of her future mate.

_He is not your mate._

_He is_ not _your mate._

_Get up and find someone who can fix this before he eats you alive!_

Ben’s lips hovered over Rey’s neck, breath gushing out in heated puffs that washed over her pulse and her grand and her throat. Then she felt it. She _felt_ it, so hard that she would have staggered if she wasn’t sitting down.

Rey felt Ben’s desire. And she was absolutely drunk off of it.

A tongue slid out between Ben’s lips and Rey was this close to falling apart as he licked hot across her gland. It was _obscene_ how good it felt. She’d never let anyone near her gland before. No one deserved to be near her gland.

_That’s right. Stop this. Right now._

“You taste good, too. You taste _so_ good, Rey.”

“Ben,” Rey tried weakly, “I don’t—“ she managed, tried, and failed, as her body—damn her body!—began to respond, her hands wrapping around his neck to pull him closer so he could—yes, right there—never stop.

Suddenly, early morning light shot into the tent as the flaps were drawn back. Both wolves paused and shielded their eyes. Squinting, Rey could just barely see the shadow of a figure. The brightness ebbed as the flaps closed with a slap of hide and the figure came into focus.

“Finn?”

The Omega swaggered in, decked out in a pair of linen harem pants, a t _riskelion_ embroidered floor sweeping vest, and heavy leather boots. He stood next to the fire, orange casting his brown skin ethereal. “Surprised to see me? You shouldn’t be. You nominated me for this position! Remember? At that stupid townhall? I had the distinct pleasure of being reminded of that last night.” Finn frowned. “I had plans.”

“For _what_?” Rey asked, confused.

Finn raised a brow. “Aide to the Blood Moon couple. Glorified tour guide. You know, they could have come up with something cooler like “Third Most Important Person in Core For The Time Being.”

“And _I_ nominated you for it?”

“You did. Probably because you thought you wouldn’t be nominated yourself. But look at us. Here. Nominated. Together.” A distinct look of horror passed over his eyes before it resolved into steely eyed determination. Finn was nothing but a professional. “I’m here to oversee and help you to get settled. Help with the finer points of courtship, court, and of course, mating.”

Rey groaned. “That seemed like such a good idea when the process didn’t involve me.”

“Well…it does. And,” Finn glanced from Ben to Rey then back to Rey. “Can we implement a no touching rule? Most couples have the decency and self-control to wait but I can see you two are having…trouble with that aspect.”

Rey finally realized what position Finn had caught them in and she snatched her hands from around Ben. “It’s not what it—"

“This isn’t necessary,” Ben interrupted, pushing from the bed and moving back to his side. He hadn’t bothered with clothes yet. A real gentleman, that one. “I’ll have you know that I’ve never had a complaint in the world.” He glanced back at Rey, eyes wicked. “I’m sure, despite her qualms, she’ll enjoy mating with me as well.”

“Well!” Finn said, brows to his forehead. “Poe told me you were arrogant. Let’s count this as the one time he was actually right.” 

Before Ben could respond—and it looked like he wanted to respond—Finn turned and tapped on a flap. It opened again with another flash of bright light. Two Beta wolves lugged in a heavy chest and dropped it by the fire in a flurry of dirt and leaves. One was from Mandalore—Rey could tell from the Mandalore helmet embroidered on his beskar gauntlets. The other was from Endor—an embroidered tree on his headband.

“What are those?” Rey asked.

“Clothes.” Finn went to the chest and flipped it open with his boot. With a ceremonial flair that told Rey he was much more excited about this than either her or Ben, he began pulling out thick heavy layers of linen and cotton, laying them across his arms for examination. One of the Beta wolves followed up behind him and pulled out a large golden jewelry box. Inside was a huge and garish set of multipart bracelets made of differing materials.

“Are you _fucking_ kidding me?” Ben growled as one of the Beta wolves approached him with the jewelry. They shrank back when he swiped at them. “I’m not wearing that.”

You would have thought that Ben had told Finn he was declining the nomination. “You _have_ to. You don’t—it’s not optional. You have a meeting with the Elders this morning. And then after that it’s a meeting with the Mothers of Core, and then the Wives of Core. The Clan Mother is here from Dothamir to bless your union and after that, a parade around the village. Then a tour of the fortress, and a meeting with—”

“What? Why? _Why_?” Ben all but screamed.

Finn looked at him like he was simple. For as long as she’d known him, Finn was one of the rare Omegas whose biology didn’t cower to Alpha command. Maybe being raised by a cunning Salamander and a fearless Wookie did the trick. “The Blood Moon has not happened for centuries. Did you not think there would be some ridiculous pomp and circumstance before things returned to normal? Look, appease these old fools and before you know it, you’ll be hunting and commanding people and putting your Alpha foot down and best of all,” Finn paused, looking entirely too pleased with himself, “enjoying what’s between Rey’s thighs.”

“I am going to kill you, then revive you so I can kill you again.” It was Rey’s turn to snarl.

“There’s that temper I love! Calm down and get used to it! It’s the nature of the beast, Peanut.”

_Years ago_

**Core Clan Village: Takodana**

“You ever consider it weird that your mother is a Salamander?”

“You ever consider it weird that your face looks like an ass?”

“You ever consider it weird that _you_ smell like an ass?”

“You ever consider it weird that you—"

A book slammed against the counter and the jars that lined the shelves against the wall rattled, along with whatever was inside of it—creepy, crawly things and some that wiggled and slithered. 

“Children! Peace. And. Quiet. That’s all I asked from you in return for hiding out here and I am getting _everything_ but peace and quiet!”

“But Mom! Rey started it!”

“’But Mom, Rey started it!” Maz mocked. “Finn, you and Rey are not four years old anymore. You’re young adults,” she stressed, “and because someone starts something doesn’t mean you have to finish it!”

“But Mom!”

“But Mom, nothing! If you two can’t be quiet then you can leave.”

“No,” they screeched in unison.

Maz raised a brow.

“Honestly,” Rey tried. “We’ll be quiet. Promise.”

The two young shifters were hiding which was a huge social taboo but if they didn’t get caught, then it didn’t matter.

It was Mating Solstice—a day where all the young shifters of the village strutted around flirting and making heart eyes at each other. Finn thought it was _preposterous_. It would be another, what, fifty years before they would even think about mating, so this annual day of utter bullshit was just a silly tradition the Takodana loved to keep up.

Ever since they’d been deemed old enough to attend mating events, both Finn and Rey had found elaborate ways to get out of it. This year’s escape was his mother’s shop. Rey snuck into his bedroom window before the sun rose this morning and they hadn’t left the shop since. Which worked—generally only the odd and kooky and sometimes hopeless visited Salamander’s, so nobody would come sniffing up their asses.

The downside? It was _boring_.

They’d played all the games, sang all the songs, and his mother had given them an eye so venomous when they started to wrestle after breakfast that he knew a repeat of that was out of the question.

Finn sighed loudly. _I wish the sun would go down on this insipid, ridiculous day already!_

“Finn,” Rey whined. To hide better, she was dressed in some of his clothes, a tan shirt with too many stains from helping his mother sound the shop and a pair of pants that swallowed her long, thin legs. “Don’t you have a book or something I can read?”

Finn sniffed, not looking up from the piece of wood he was whittling into a knife. “No. You borrowed them all. As a matter of fact, I haven’t received any of them back.”

Rey frowned. “Oh, come off it. I couldn’t have borrowed all of them.”

“Yeah, you did. Forty-seven books, if I’m being exact. My apothecary books, the midwifery books I never even got a chance to read, thank you. The one book I had on political debates—Maker knows why you needed that. You know, I’m really starting to reconsider this whole best friend’s thing. A real friend would return things that she borrowed.”

“This coming from someone who borrowed— _stole_ —those kyber crystals I found, smashed it down and made them into eyeshadow!”

Finn looked off and blinked. “Oh. That’s right.”

“ _Oh_ , he says,” Rey murmured as she thunked him on the head. “But still, there has to be something.”

“We could always go outside if you’re just dying to do something.”

Rey pinched the bridge of her nose. “Now, you’re just being stupid.”

“Your face is stupid,” Finn quipped, knife dropping to his lap.

“ _Your_ face is stupid.”

“No, _your_ face is stupid—“

“ _Children!”_

Both of their heads flew up to face Maz’s and maybe Rey had never seen his mother angry, but he had and he knew what her furrowed brows and thin pinched lips meant. “Out! Both of you! Out! I don’t have the time to deal with your—“

Before the salamander shifter could get her next words out, solid footsteps stomped through the doorway, coming to a stop in the middle of Maz’s shop.

It was a man and Finn could smell two things on him: Alpha and rage. He was short with stumpy thick legs, broad shoulders, and a barrel chest that made him look like a log. Behind him was a young woman girl, thumb stuck in her mouth as she chewed on a nail, her green eyes avoiding everyone as she fidgeted to and fro. She winced when the man hauled her further in the shop.

He approached Maz’s counter and pulled up close, practically breathing down the salamander’s neck. “You told me it would work, lizard. You told me it would work! Look at her!”

In a fit of rage that Finn knew was almost inevitable, he took his large, hairy forearm and swept it across the counter, knocking down jars, containers and books. A large mortar and pestle slammed against the floor and split in half. Large blue-green sized rocks spilled out of the broken ceramic and across the floor. “How do you expect her to mate if she won’t even open up her bloody mouth to speak when she smells like nothing!”

Finn’s eyes flicked back and forth between the man and his mother. He didn’t say anything, not yet, but he watched, his half-formed wood knife in one hand, his steel one in the other. Finn was good with knives, sharp things, swords.

_“Young Omegas need protection, too. And it is my job to make sure you all are kept safe.”_

He’d remembered Brenton words. He may be an Omega wolf, but he was the ranking wolf in this house. No one would threaten him or his mother under this roof. Rey must of heard his snarl, and she placed a hand on his shoulder. It grounded him, but it didn’t prevent his top lip from curling back.

Maz, however, stood calm in front of the man’s anger “I said it _might_ work. Might. And my instructions were that she was to chew the bark twice a day, every day. Has she been doing that? I highly doubt it if going by how slender she looks.”

“She missed a few days! So, what! The point is your stupid herbs didn’t work. Not a wolf glanced her way today!”

Maz rolled her eyes as she placed down the one jar she’d managed to save, jumping down from her stool and moving from behind the counter. She walked up to the man, staring up at him for a faint, disapproving moment, then past him, choosing to stand at the woman’s side, her aura calm and unthreatening.

“Remind me. What’s your name again, beloved?”

She looked down at her, her gaze still refusing to look anywhere else. “L-Luna,” she whispered, eventually.

Maz smiled, one so wide her cheeks pushed at her goggles. “That’s a very pretty name for a very pretty girl.” The back of Luna’s hand flew to her lips, grey eyes darted up once, and she giggled like a shy little lamb who couldn’t resist a piece of honeysuckle.

Finn watched as his mother reached into her pocket and withdrew a jagged piece of red bark. “Do you know what this is?”

She chewed her lip, eyes darting up again, but shook her head no.

“It’s called _Lunest_. Sort of like your name, huh, sweetest?”

The young woman giggled again. It was amazing to see the affect his mother had on people. She radiated trust, weathered and broken in, a comfortable glow that impressed itself on everyone she met.

“We all smell a certain way, Luna, all unique, and all beautiful in its own right. Yours is suppressed, naturally, maybe because you’re so precious and shy, I don’t know. But this Lunest here? It will bring out _all_ of you, especially your unique scent.” She reached up and took Luna’s hand, uncurling the fingers that were pressing into the young woman’s palm. She placed the bark and Luna’s fingers clamped down around it like it was a lifeline. “Is there perchance a wolfling that you fancy?”

The girl’s face reddened, and she ducked further behind the man’s shoulder, the crown of her head jutting just over his shoulder, her red hair shaking as she nodded.

Maz laughed softly. “If you come back by here, I’ll tell you how I met my mate. You’ve probably seen him around. Big harry fella? We’re incompatible as all get out, but once he got a good sniff of me, and me of him? Destiny. So, follow my instructions more carefully, dear heart. Chew on this bark at least twice a day. However, when you finally have the courage to approach your wolf, chew on it a few minutes before you see them. I promise, you’ll catch their attention, okay?”

The young woman bit her lip, a look of confidence in her eyes as she finally, finally raised her head long enough to hold Maz’s gaze.. She accepted the bark and smiled.

“This one is a bit stronger. Come by tomorrow and bring me all your unused _Hamamei_ bark tomorrow. If it has begun to rot, it will have an opposite effect. I’ll have more ready for you.” Maz took a step back and regarded the man again. “Trust me, Arvuiil. She still has so much time before she has to mate. The bark will do right by her if she does right by the bark, hm?”

The anger drained from him and his sigh could almost be confused with a pained sob. His chest deflated and his shoulders sagged. “I just want my daughter to be taken care of.”

Maz gently touched his hand. “And she will, old friend. She will.”

Finn and Rey waited until the man and young woman left before they even dared to move. Rey eventually voiced what Finn was thinking.

“I thought you were an herbalist, Ma.”

She nodded as if she were suddenly tired. She pulled her goggles to the top of her head and rubbed at the indents they made on her vibrant orange skin. “I am.”

“Herbs that change the way you smell? But Mom, isn’t that…illegal?” The last thing Finn wanted was for his mother to be sent away from the village…or worse.

“No. Not _quite_ illegal, but highly unsavory to some of those in Core. It’s true that it would be a disaster if everyone tampered with nature’s law. It’s best to leave things as they should be. However, for those who desperately need it, I make a way.”

Maz took slow deliberate steps towards the two young shifters before plopping down in front of them, legs akimbo across the floor “You remember the story about the woman who lost her way in the woods between here and the lands some of the Nightsisters claim? How she never came back?”

Both of them nodded.

“That was Arvuiil’s wife and Luna’s mother. Arvuiil is all Luna has left, but unfortunately, he is dying. Heartsickness.”

“Heartsickness,” Finn repeated. “When your mate dies and you lose the will to…” Finn trailed off, feeling sick himself at the news.

“Yes. So, he is scared and wants to make sure Luna is taken care of before he goes. When he came to me, desperate, I decided to help him. To help Luna be able to find a mate.”

That was noble. A just reason for interfering with nature. Finn respected nature, how it evolved to provide for them, but to also protect itself _from_ them. And it wasn’t tinkering, he decided, it was coaxing, soothing, persuading. Finally, his face eased into a small smile. “I don’t…think it's such a bad thing.”

Maz laughed and reached forward to pat him on the head. “It’s not, my love. Not at all.”

Hours later, Rey and Finn were finally finished piecing Maz’s herb book back together. The jars were replaced and the broken mortar and pestle was thrown away. Finn decided he would go out tomorrow and get his mother a new one with the money he made selling his cosmetics around the village. He decided that he, too, was going to help those in need. Help coax nature into providing a way for those who needed it.

Rey was sweeping for a lack of anything else to do when Finn noticed one of those blue-green rocks from before jammed in between two floorboards.

“Rey.” His friend looked up. “By your foot. “

Rey’s brow rose as she bent over to pick it up. “Where should I put this?” Rey motioned to her palm, however the rock seemed to crumble into dust. “What the hell—"

“No!”

The shout startled Finn and he turned just in time to see his mother’s small body hop onto the counter and sail through the air to tackle Rey. A cloud of dust hung in the air where Rey was standing a moment ago, slowly falling to the floor in a whirl of emerald and azure powder. The specks smeared when Rey reached up to touch her face.

“Wha—oh! Oh! It burns It’s burning!”

Maz smacked her hand away. “Don’t touch it! It’s _Celeste_! It’s a—damn it. Finn! Grab my satchel!” Finn ran to the other side of the room, hand around the first bag he spotted. “No, the other one with the green strap! Yes, that one!”

Finn did as he was told and ran the satchel to his mother’s side.

“Good boy. Okay. I need you to run for Brenton’s house as fast as you can. Don’t stop, you hear me? Don’t stop until you get there. They _must_ bring the mixture I made for Rey. The more they can bring the better.”

Rey was screaming at this point and Maz had to grab Finn’s shoulders son to shake him out of his stupor.

“I–I don’t understand. What’s wrong with her?” Finn said, panicked and scared.

“Rey is…different, Finn,” Maz admitted in a rush. “She’s different and I’ve been helping her family with it. And now I need _you_ to help her. Please hurry, son. She doesn’t have much time.”

Finn stared at his best friend as she began to convulse. Blue foam began bubbling over her lips and down the side of face like seafoam gathering at shore. Her green eyes flashed yellow for a faint second before they rolled up into the back of her head.

Finn reached for her, her tanned, freckled skin taking on a deathly grey pallor.

_Rey…what’s wrong with you?_

“Finn, please!”

Finn was scared. He was so scared. But he couldn’t lose Rey. He _couldn’t_.

Finn didn’t hesitate after that. He ran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somatoll  
> Durteel Haza  
> Hydraatis  
> Tashtors — I literally made it up. Takodana is in the Tashtor sector, and since their sun is called sun, this is what I decided to call their version of sunflowers.  
>  Dothamir Clan Mother  
> Gallius Rax  
> Bracelets


	3. onus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey fight. What's new?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of our favorite "clones" shows up in this chapter, and I've been bothered that Palpatine would make a clone as hideous as Snoke—because he wouldn't. 
> 
> So this is the Snoke you should have in your head [ Snoke ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/pkmovies92/35817802070)

_Present day_

“Is he awake yet?”

The healer smiled warmly at Finn. “His dose was pretty strong. He hasn’t responded to this yet,” they said and waved a small package of aromatic spirits in the air. “Yet, I don’t think it will be long until he does. Would you like someone to come get you when he wakes up?”

Finn shook his head. “No, no, thank you. I’ll be there when he does.”

The healer nodded and took a step out of the tent and Finn ducked in as the flaps began to close. It drowned out the sound of outside, busy with the preparations of it all. If Coruscant had been busy yesterday, it was downright chaotic right now. The capital had been flooded with out–of–towners who were pushing the capacity of the city, hoping for a chance to see their new leaders at the parade or just enjoying the festivities. Smaller tents were erected all up and down the path that led out of Coruscant and into Core proper. Finn supposed he should be busy too. 

And he was—just with other things.

He took a look around, relishing in the temporary quiet, as if the tent flaps have sealed this world off from the rest. This tent, sitting northeast on the empty field they were using to house the slumbering Alphas of Core, was just as large as Ben’s and Rey’s. Same roaring fire pit, birch wood columns, and seal of Coruscant burned into the hide walls. Three beds, three sets of ceremonial garb that had been traded for clothing better suited for daily wear. Three golden chests, now empty. Yet, there was only one bed being occupied.

Finn chewed on his lip and approached the bed, briefly wondering where Phasma and Hux could have gone, and perched on one of the stools the healer must have been using while watching over Poe. He leaned over the sleeping form, gazing at his face. He was drooling. It was...adorable. 

Poe looked calm—a rare occurrence for the cocksure Alpha, always either in the middle of a crisis, or creating one himself. He had the smooth tanned face of a man who loved the outdoors, a sturdy chin that could use a shave, and pale, pink lips—currently parted open as he snored softly. If Finn squinted, he would almost think Poe was...smiling. Finn savored this opportunity—to examine him up close and in public where they could get caught. Poe would never let him get this close if he were awake. Always smacking his hand away or taking a step back if Finn got too close when other eyes were on them.

Finn understood. Poe was a leader and needed to appear as a leader. His pack looked to him for everything—stability, peace, survival. In a world where Alphas assumed ultimate rugged dominance, Finn made Poe’s eyes go soft whenever he looked at him, caused him to smile too hard or pick the petals off a flower, one by one, muttering to himself. Sometimes Poe confessed that he wanted to forget his work and lay in bed with Finn all morning. But he couldn’t and Finn understood.

_The life of the unmated._

Finn brushed Poe’s dark curls from his forehead.

“Me complaining about this place shouldn’t be a surprised, but what good did it serve to give you, give any of you, such strong doses? If they didn’t want you to be an Alpha of Core, a note clipped to your shirt for your mommy to see would have been sufficient, right?” Then he thought about Shara Bey and how he was sure she’d lose her shit if Poe did anything less Corelike than suck down a bowl of sedative.

“I’m glad though,” the Omega whispered. “That it wasn’t you. That they chose someone else. I am _glad_. Am I supposed to say that?” Finn rolled his eyes, snorted a bit. “You’d say I was selfish, you pragmatic ass. And you’re right. I _am_ selfish.”

A notion, traitorous and self-effacing, tried to worm it’s way inside of his head. One that said that Poe hadn’t claimed him because Poe never wanted to. He knew that wasn’t true, however, it stuck with him, tacky like the wheatpaste that held notices to walls. Still, Finn continued gazing at him, lost in this tiny moment of freedom for a moment, a minute, hours, days, a few seconds, until he lowered his nose to Poe’s gland and inhaled.

He used to hate the way Poe smelled. It was so different from his spices and smoky scent, so much _stronger_ and it used to make Finn wrinkle his nose when he was around. But, now? Finn _loved_ Poe’s scent. He smelled like clouds and spring water in May. He smelled like first fallen snow and wind.

“Stop sniffing me, you crazy wolf.” Finn felt thin fingers lacing with his. “Taking advantage of me while I sleep.”

Finn snorted as Poe’s eyes fluttered open but he did stop sniffing him, raising his head so he could look at him.

“Hey,” Poe said softly.

“Hey, back.” 

Poe groaned, trying to sit up and Finn rushed to help him upright. He turned, grabbing the pitcher on the side table and poured him a drink.

“Here. Your throat must feel like sand.”

“No worse than my head. I didn’t want to be their damn Alpha leader anyway and all I got for trying was this fucking headache.” Poe grabbed the cup and gulped it down, water spilling over his lips and down his neck. “Who got Prime anyways? Probably Phasma and her permanent resting bitch face. God, she is going to hate being mated to Ben. Oil and water.”

“Not Phasma,” Finn choked out, coughing. Poe absentmindedly patted him on the back. “You know—it’s _amazing_ , actually. Totally divine. It has to be,” he wondered out loud.

“What is?” Poe asked, reaching for more water.

“Rey.”

“Yeah,” he said, gulping down another mouthful. “What about her? Oh! If Phasma wasn’t chosen...then Hux?” Poe laughed and he actually slapped his knee. “Now _that_ going to be entertaining!”

“Well, it wasn’t Hux either.” 

Poe raised a brow. “Not Hux,” he said slowly, confused. 

Finn sighed, finding no easier way to get it since Poe couldn’t be counted on to use his head right now. He cleared his throat. “Rey. She was…was _chosenasAlpha Prime_ ,” Finn gushed out, the words flowing from his brain to his mouth and out into the air and onto the floor.

“I was surprised she showed up, but I get it. You do what you have to—I’m sorry. What did you just say?”

“You heard me,” Finn muttered.

Poe’s eyes narrowed, a look of utter bafflement, and Finn wondered if every secret he’d ever told Poe had gone in one furry ear and out the other. Then he watched as Poe slowly, _slowly_ caught up.

He lurched up, eyes wide and wild and utterly panicked. “What the _fuck_ do you mean Rey is Alpha Prime? Finn. _Finn_. That’s biologically impossible! Impossible! Holy shit, has Ben mated her, yet? Oh my god, he has, hasn’t he? Well, fuck me! Fuck _us_! That’s it! That’s it, we’re dead, Finn. Dead!”

Finn watched Poe’s panic attack with mild amusement, not going as far as to laugh because Poe did have a very good point.

“Ben is going to find out, and because he is too smart for his own good, he’s going to link _you_ to it, and I’ll be damned if anyone lays a hand on my mate! So, then I’m going to have to fight my best friend. My best friend! To defend your life! And it’s not going to work!” Poe was screaming at this point, his legs kicking under the covers and his fist balled at his side. Finn rushed to cover his mouth—Yes, tell the whole neighborhood, Poe!—but he paused, blinking, because…

“Did you just say mate?”

Finn didn’t move his hand from Poe’s mouth, so Poe nodded like it was some foregone conclusion.

Slowly, Poe reached up and removed Finn’s hand. “Why do you look like that?”

“Oh, I don’t know!” he screeched, standing up, ignoring how the stool clattered to the ground. “You signed up for a dick measuring contest to see if you’d be the mate of the most powerful Alpha in Core. And you were a shoo-in!”

“Well, you know. Blood Moons are fickle things.”

Oh, of all the bloody fucking things to—Finn stopped and pointed a finger in Poe’s face. “I was going to _lose_ you last night.” 

Poe’s grip tightened on Finn’s hand. “I...I _had_ to. I couldn’t withdraw, Finn. Mandalore’s social standing depended on last night. I couldn’t…”

Finn plopped down on the edge of Poe’s bed. “I _know_ that. I understand but, damn, can I get a moment to be surprised? It’s been two decades.”

“Two _perfect_ decades,” Poe crooned, attacking Finn and laying wet sloppy kisses on his neck.

“Oh, stars, gross.” Poe laid one embarrassingly loud one to Finn’s gland, and Finn looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “That’s not yours! Not yet! 

“Will be soon. And you used to like it when I touched it,” Poe pouted. 

“I do, just,” and he looked around, “not here, please. Thank you. I’d rather not pop a boner where everyone can see.” 

Poe smiled like Finn had said something utterly adorable. “By the way, what are you doing here still? I was sure you’d be back in Takodana by now.”

Finn smiled as he untangled himself from Poe’s arms. “I was selected to be the Imperial Personal Aide to the…whatever they end up calling them.”

Poe whistled. “You?”

“Me,” Finn prattled proudly. “It’s my duty to watch over the happy couple and make sure they don’t kill each other until they matebond. And from this morning’s display, I wouldn’t say they are warming up to each other. I couldn’t tell if Ben was about to kiss or gnaw Rey’s face off. And not the good kind of gnaw either.”

“Well, Ben should hurry up and claim her. Soul bonds tend to lessen murderous intent. Especially if he ever finds out.”

Finn nodded and wiped his hands over his face tiredly.

_If._

Ben was a bit confused. Understatement. He was _very_ confused. He’d done his research. You don’t boast leading a clan of leaders without researching your past. You don’t boast anything Alderaanian without doing your research. That’s how the past comes back to destroy you.

Per his research, the last Blood Moon bonded pair was Revan of Endor and Bastilla Shan of Talravin, a small town just north of Alderaan, and under Alderaan claim.

In the history of Core, there had been two Shifter Wars, the First, and The Great, which, at the end, the two founders ushered in peace and solidified the five warring clans into Core.

The most important thing he’d read, important to him now was, when they’d been named Alpha, they were marched into Coruscant, shown their new home—now The Imperial Fortress—and that was it. There had been no bowls, no elixirs, no fainting spells. There had been no fancy clothing and jewelry and scheduled tours around town. No ridiculous sit-down dinners and no ridiculous speeches.

So, Ben couldn’t be blamed for wanting to hunt down the wretched bantha poodoo fool who’d started these traditions and _snap_ their necks.

But he couldn’t because he had responsibilities now, ones far larger than his in Alderaan, and killing the Core elders seemed like a very bad way to start off. He would deal. He wasn’t happy about it, but he would deal.

The most wearying process he’d ever been involved in began after he and Rey ate—Rey who was not talking to him, not looking at him, acting as if he didn’t exist.

Two new Beta wolves appeared this time, bearing two more golden chest. One was wearing a full mask made of beskar, common for someone from Mandalore, and the other was afraid to look either of them in the eye. They laid the chest at the feet of their respective beds and stood back.

_Great. More golden shit._

The two—Ben decided to call them Mute One and Mute Two—stood there, silently, one staring at Ben, the other staring at Rey. Neither party said not a word of instruction and Ben could _feel_ Rey getting annoyed. It felt…like tingling in an arm gone asleep or grit in your eye. If there was a bond, he could calm her through it, which would help his own temper.

No bond, and Rey hadn’t imprinted on him, hadn’t even tried. It doesn’t take long if you know it’s inevitable, but he was quickly finding out she was more than stubborn. She was downright obdurate.

Something snap, like a string pulled to taut and Rey leaned forward, glaring at the wolves. “Is there something we can…I don’t know, help you with?” she snapped. “Or is this standard procedure? The staring?”

The one from Mandalore, well she…giggled before removing her mask. Long, raven hair tumbled down across her shoulders, not quite hiding the curve half moon of an intricate tattoo across her neck. 

“Rose?” they both said at the same time. Ben looked at Rey and Rey looked at Ben, both rushing to speak.

“She’s…my First’s sister.”

“She’s my best friend’s First.”

Rose looked between the two of them with a look so positively giddy, she seemed to vibrate with it. “Finn was so right. This is _so_ cool. Wow! The two of you! _Wow_!”

Ben felt Rey’s feelings spike before dulling into something that felt less like annoyance and more like familiarity.

“Let me guess,” she said. “Poe chose you to help us?”

“Yep!” she squealed. The other beta wolf looked at her, confused, but she elbowed him, smiling like the cat who’d caught the mouse. “We’re gonna help you so you two can focus on...you know... _bonding_.” She flashed her brows as she did so and Ben used to Rose being Rose, and paid it no mind, but her purpose still rankled him. 

Ben grunted. “Is everyone in this goddamned village ‘helping’ us? It’s _fucking_. I fuck her, she fucks me, and a few bites later, guess what, we are bonded. I don’t know why everyone is trying to reinvent the wheel!”

Rey sighed like it wasn’t preordained and Ben rolled his eyes in response. “You act as if I’m not telling the truth.”

“No, you’re right,” she said, glancing down at her nails. “I’m just lamenting on how _terribly_ romantic you are.”

“Stop reading human books and you wouldn’t get human ideas.”

Rey’s lip, pretty, pink, moist from her food, curled. “I see detecting sarcasm isn’t a strength in Alderaan.“

“Luckily,” Rose interrupted, rocking back and forth between her heels and the balls of her feet, “we are not here for _that_. Just to oversee the heavy lifting. Also transporting the gifts, and packing up your homes, and all that. Oh! And most importantly…” She bent in half and flipped open the lock to the chest at Ben’s feet, lugging out a heavy golden haired bear pelt. The other Beta wolf did the same.

“What—in the entire _fuck_ —are those?” Ben growled.

Rose blinked. “The Sacraments.”

“T–The Sacraments?” Ben bellowed, incredulous. “What happened to the simple headdress they spoke of? In the books! The books said a simple headdress of rubies and gold. They said nothing about a golden bear demon hide!”

Rey stepped in right as he began pacing towards the Beta who was still avoiding him. Rose wasn’t going to give him a straight answer but maybe he could knock the—

“Ah, uh, thank you for bringing these to us. And a favor? Could you _please_ tell Finn to keep his gossip to a minimum—he’ll know why. And when you find Paige, please direct her this way? I’ll attend to our Supreme Alpha for now.”

Rose nodded, hooking her arm in the other Betas, who looked like he was going to faint any second now. “We’ll be around if you need us. And good luck!”

Then they were gone. Leaving Ben—and his temper—alone, once again, with Rey.

“This is goddamn circus!”

Ben glared at flaps of the tent, wondering if he could order them sewn shut so he could get his mind together for just one damn minute. Instead, he whirled on his intended mate for a lack of an easier target. “And what’s with you? ‘I’ll attend to the Supreme Alpha.’ What happened to this morning’s sputtering speech. What was it? Oh, that’s right. “ _This is a mistake_.” Ben said, his words dripping with the pettiness of someone whose feelings had been hurt and was unwilling to examine why.

Rey gave him a look of disinterest or maybe it was something else, her green eyes studying as if he were some kind of small creature she’d never seen before. Without a word, she rose from her bed, standing just shy of his. She held her head up, pert nose high, shoulders squared. “I’m not very good at being deferential, I’ve never had to be, but I will try because I understand the nature of this pairing. I will do my best…for the short amount of time we are going to be…” She paused her speech to gesture wildly. “For honesty’s sake, you should know that I do plan on speaking with the Oracles and having them choose a sufficient mate for you. Trust me when I say it is not me.”

Ben softened, interpreting her speech as vulnerable confession, that he too, had hurt her feelings. From the rumors he’d heard about her, and from what he’d seen—Rey was tough and gritty but lived by votives and vows, promising what she could and always going beyond what was necessary for her village. And…apparently now, he was included in the nurturing circle she’d drawn in the sand. Willing to forsake ground on her pride to—well, he honestly didn’t know what she was doing. 

It didn’t matter who Ben _said_ he wanted. It mattered who he was going to be with, so she could...stop. Nothing would change. 

“Rey. That was a joke earlier…about Phasma,” Ben tried, his voice as soft and as calm as he could make it, considering. “I didn’t think you were actually _serious_ about that. I…want—” His lips clamped shut. 

He wasn’t going to admit that. Not now.

Once again, Rey didn’t answer him, instead, walking around his bed to stand at his back. He resisted the temptation to turn around. Her scent was invading his senses, the edges of its blankness rendered soft, and he could catch hints of blonde woods, sandalwood, musk, evanescent before fluttering away. A hand landed on his shoulder, squeezing once or twice. It trailed along his skin, up his neck until fingers were buried in his hair. 

It was by his training alone that he didn’t moan or shiver at her touch.

She pulled his hair, long enough to grace his shoulder blades, back into her hands, braiding on strip of hair, then another, before looping them together at the back of his head. A halo of hair that would sit just below The Sacraments, leaving his hair free to flutter about. 

It gave Ben a moment to think, while her skilled hands weaved and touched and pressed against his scalp. She would do well in Alderaan. He could— _would_ —teach her the braiding techniques of mated couples, how to weave and bend hair, saturating it with power and meaning. His grandmother wore her hair piled high with braids, beads woven between the strands, a statement that showcased her noble power and decree.

Yes, it was going to be good, nice even, teaching her his traditions, and him, learning hers.

He’d never truly thought about having a mate. It was expected of him, of course, seeing as he was one of the rare Alphas to capture the title after his father. The Solo Dynasty is what they wanted to call them, which, to him, was drastic overkill. All Ben wanted was to do a good job, be remembered, and honor the legacy left by his parents. 

Now, he had a preordained mate, he felt his chest warm with the possibilities. Rey was good, she was strong, if not private and somewhat off putting when it came down to it. But…he’d always…liked her.

He liked the feel her hands in his hair. He liked the smell of her—that non–descript but ultimately tantalizing scent that stood out as much as it tried to blend in. He liked how her heat sank into him. He liked...her.

There were other things he liked—her profile, how her head was always tilted back when she talked like she wasn’t afraid to stare another Alpha. Her height, how she was taller than average, yet tall enough for him. Her funny little accent, her large doe eyes. The way she’d sometimes wear her hair in those outrageous buns at meetings.

Ben leaned back into her touch and closed his eyes.

They would be good together. They’d changed the world.

His musing was interrupted when Rey hands dropped from his hair. “I was,” she finally replied.

Ben hummed, trying to ease back into the tranquility he from her touch. “You were what?”

“I was serious about finding a way to prevent our mating.”

Ben’s eyes shot open. He twisted to look at her. She wasn’t even looking in his direction, giving him, instead, her profile to yell at. “You’re being ridiculous!” he snarled.

She snorted. “Call it what you want.”

“And I’ll tell you why! Besides the fact that there’s no way in hell the Oracles are going to reverse anything on account of you “not feeling it” or whatever fucking emotional crisis you think you’re having right now, this—me and you—is how it works and this is how it has always worked. Political matings between clans is how it goes.”

She glared at him“One, this isn’t _political_. It’s mythical, prophetical, muttered down by two “divine” people to another “divine” person who thinks they have the power to decide the fates of others. And two …” Rey sighed. “You don’t understand.”

“It’s not like I’m trying to either,” Ben ground out before standing, still nude. “Because if I’m stuck in this, so are you.” He turned on her, standing over her this time. And there it was, that stubborn, vexatious tilt of her head that was both lovely and infuriating. “You are not going to embarrass me, you are _not_ going to defy me, and you are not going to make a sham of the ceremony Gungar believed so much in. If you didn’t want to be a part of this, you should have withdrawn your name.” He snatched the first pair of pants he could out of the chest and rammed his bare foot into them.

“Since you want to _attend_ to your Alpha so badly, have my clothes ready by the time I get back,” he threw over his shoulder before storming out.

During their parade of Core, most of the townspeople came out to greet them; reaching out to touch their clothes like they were royalty or something. It could be the mystery behind it, a chance to treat them as if they were noble, because their mating would be something divine, something prophesied.

Of course, Ben thought otherwise. Nothing about this felt empyreal. The jewelry was gaudy and absurd, the bracelets, rigid and tight against his skin and The Sacraments were heavy, making his neck and shoulders sore. 

Yet, it was like he couldn’t be bothered with that pain when Rey was being an even bigger pain in his ass! 

Twice—twice!—Rey had sought out the Oracles and twice Ben had only barely managed to stop her. When Rey attempted a third time but Ben had all but dragged her to the other side of the room before she got a chance to tap Kaydel on the shoulder.

He knew the moment they stepped foot inside of that tent, there would be a war.

“Stars! If I had to listen to that pratty old bard sing that poem again, I was going to kriffing _lose_ it. If I never hear Cordia’s Blood Flower ever again, I’ll be perfectly fine.”

Ben strode in after her, pulling The Sacrament from his head and flinging the monstrous garment across his bed. “It was rather boring.”

“That goes without saying,” Rey replied as she carefully placed her hide back in the chest.

Ben’s glare intensified. She was prancing about, casually, unbothered, as if she hadn’t tried to embarrass Ben on several occasions.

_Insolent, vexatious, infuriating—_

“Tell me,” he said, arms across his chest, a deep line forming between his brows. The anger clawing at his neck was miasmic and vicious, but also steady and unflappable. “Was there anyone else you’d rather heard from today? A chat with the Oracles, perhaps? They most certainly had your undivided attention, if I recall.”

Rey sighed like Ben was being unreasonable and he had a red tinted vision of tying her up and throwing her in the chest. Then sitting on it. For all eternity. 

“I warned you what I would do.”

“And here I thought you had enough sense to know that your plan was—” and he couldn’t think of another word, he was so wrought with her—“stupid!”

She looked at him like his attempt was weak at best, childish, even. “I can’t explain to you why this mating isn’t a wise choice, why it doesn’t make any sense. I can’t ask you to trust me, either. We hardly know each other well enough for something as binding as trust.”

She turned to him, finally, her aura plaintive and pleading for blind understanding. _To hell with that!_ “But believe me when I say that I am not what this village needs as its leader. I’m not. Hell, most of this is successful on us mating and I—I don’t think it’s a wise idea. I—see you as a friend, Ben, a mentor. I was so young when I took the mantle and you were there for me...kind of. It,” and she squared her shoulders. “I don’t feel anything for you. Nothing, got it? So, let’s just spare ourselves the trouble and let me do this.”

His festering rage was made tender and painful by her statement. That wasn’t what Ben wanted to hear.

He’d noticed Rey. He’d always noticed Rey. When she’d first became Alpha, he’d sheltered her from rumors, from the nasty things others felt entitled to say because she was young and grief stricken. When she became of age, he’d protected her, glaring from across the room when those stupid, pompous, feckless fools would try to approach her. No, they weren’t close but—he’d always noticed Rey.

And this half-shot of a wolf wanted to stand here and tell him she felt nothing? Nothing?

A mistake, she’d said. We _were chosen right under the Blood Moon! How could it be a mistake? The gods ordained this!_

How could it be a mistake when Ben wanted her? 

Not just him, but the wolf inside of him. It reared up, hissed and clawed at Ben’s restraint. If he’d been in a better mood, if this hadn’t…blindsided him, he’d have better control. At the moment, his control was rendered null.

“The problem with that is,” Ben grit out between his teeth. “I feel something, Rey. I feel it down in my soul and in my loins. Just a whiff of you and my cock twitches. It’s as if I’m supposed to want you.”

She frowned and if Ben was a better man, in a better position, he’d know that he was quickly encroaching a line that did not need to be crossed. “That’s not my problem,” she intoned, turning away from him, tending back to whatever fucking duties she thought she had.

Ben growled. “It _is_ your problem.”

Rey spun around, mouth open to say something, to rip him apart maybe, but it was too late for words. Ben—no. No, he wasn’t quite Ben anymore, was he?—lunged at her, tackling her. They landed on the bed. And just like that Ben had his war. 

You see, Rey wasn’t an ordinary woman—she was an Alpha and the moment Ben attacked, she responded, her lips curling back, face contorted in a snarl, teeth bared. She roared, something guttural and feral and the next thing Ben knew, he was being flipped up and over into the air. 

They wrestled like that for a moment, where once or twice Rey tried to take an actual bite out of his shoulder, but Ben was stronger, and it wasn’t long before Rey’s back was hitting the dirt floor.

A funny color seeped into the green of her eyes, and if Ben was quite out of his goddamn mind, he’d remark on it. Later. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” she snarled at him.

In response, because Ben was truly gone, his eyes flashed yellow.

“Reminding you that it _is_ your problem.”

**Core Clan Village: Alderaan**

Years and years ago…

A paw came across Ben’s snout.

He yelped and slid back with the force of the blow. He was seeing double, but he shook his head to clear away the ringing and it was just enough to dodge the next slash.

Barely.

Ben took a few steps back and dug his back paws into the dirt. The wind was blowing, but he could still smell his opponent, sense her—the distance between the two of her, how many steps it would take to get to her, how many of her steps it would take to get to him.

He inhaled through his snout and huffed out a sharp breath through his mouth, concentrating, reaching deep down for the power to aid him, but coming just shy.

What would...what would Luke do? No. Luke didn’t believe in him, in his power, and it was the reason he was here to begin with. So, he didn’t rely on the shoddy training his uncle had tried to bestow on him. He reflected back to what Ren was teaching him. _There is no peace. Only passion._

Passion he could do. In his head, he recited the words to the Ceremony of Fire, one Han created as a mirror to the Ceremony of Water:

_Rage like fire, for fire burns, endlessly._

_Ferocious like fire, for fire erases, indiscriminately._

_Stead like fire, for fire brings anew, completely._

Fire. Yes. Ben put all his energy into his hind legs, felt it burn, and lunged. He was sailing through the air, eyes locked on his target—her maw and throat—when his opponent blurred and disappeared.

“Kriff!”

Ben tried twisting his body midair to avoid it, but it was too late. A hard blow to the back of his head had him sprawled across the sand pit a moment later.

“Victor, Hyo Ren.”

Ben picked himself up from the ground, his four legs wobbling as he did. There was a ringing in between his ears, and the fighting pit swayed as he steadied himself. Around him, those who’d come to watch the duel between two of the Knights of Ren—the elite fighting force of Core—were yelling and screaming in excitement as the referee waved a small red flag. Hyo’s corner.

For the victor, she was too busy reveling in her win, prancing around the ring like some kind of prized wolf.

Not that she didn’t deserve it—it was customary for them to be passionate about whatever gains they managed to nab. No. It wasn’t her. It was his father’s hard disapproving glare from his corner of the fighting ring.

_Father_ was a technicality and he would be a fool to highlight that in any form or fashion. So, ever since he’d found out who his real father was, Ben had carefully started calling the man by his real name—Snoke. And so far, Snoke had not taken offense to it. 

Hyo Ren finished being ridiculous and shifted back into her human form, grabbing a wrap and throwing it around her nude body. She sauntered over to Ben, staring at him like he was a lost little child, before she attacked him, wrapping her arms around his neck and nosing along his jawline.

“So close, Ben. So close! However, I may have cheated a little,” she whispered into his furry ear. Ben rolled his eyes and shuffled out of her embrace so he could shift himself.

“How did you cheat?” he said once he was back human. “By beating me?”

“Yes, at your own game. You get this look in your eye when you’re going to lunge. It’s not much, just a flickering in those _gorgeous_ red eyes of yours,” she said, smirking like a demented fox shifter, “but I’ve seen it enough to know when you’re going for the kill. Only way I could win.”

Ben snorted. “You’re the best fighter here, Hyo. You don’t have to lick my wounds for me.”

“Oh, yes. We would never want me to lick your wounds.”

Ben went to shove at her shoulder, but she twisted, and he stumbled forward. “Such a dirty wolf,” he muttered.

She laughed, a beautiful throaty sound that endeared her to him like no other, reminded him of why he valued her above all the other Beta wolves in Alderaan. She was worth every angry gaze from one of her jilted lovers and every forlorn whine from the Omegas he didn’t have time for. “Nonsense. I’m just faster. You move smarter. You’re stronger. I just got the one up on ya this time.” She looked over her shoulder to Snoke. “Think he’s upset?”

Ben snorted. “Understatement.” Hyo Ren frowned, her head dipping and it would be helpful if he could scent her, but she smelled like everything else around him. “Don’t worry about it,” he said, tapping under her chin. “Never pull back from a fight because you think it’ll save me.”

“Someone got to watch your back. It’s my job to,” she said softly, nuzzling the top of his head.

“Maybe,” Ben answered back. “I’ll see you tonight?”

“Yeah. Of course.” She stood and helped him to his feet. “If you're still in one piece.”

“How do you expect to be Alpha of this clan fighting like that?” Snoke circled Ben, arms tucked across his chest. Ben tilted his head up, to look at the man who had made it his life's purpose to teach Ben in the way he'd been taught. It was different from Han, unfamiliar, tenuous, and exhausting.

Unwanted. Ben knew that. Snoke taught with a closed fist and a snarl. It wasn’t the way Ben _wanted_ to be taught, but until he could find a way from Snoke, for him, and Jacen, and Jaina, then he would stand here and take whatever Snoke dished out. 

Or until Han found Ben’s mother.

_“Why can’t I come live with you?”_

_“You can, of course you can! But...I can’t bring Jacen and Jaina with me. They are Snoke’s by law, and I would need your mother to prove they are my children as well. And we can’t risk that.”_

_“I know. I—Can’t I...kill him?”_

_“Yes. I wrestle with the decision every day. Every time I see a bruise on your face, I want to rip him apart. But as leader, I can’t, not without endangering you and your mother. And I don’t want you to do something to put yourself at risk. He is powerful, Ben. Far more powerful than I ever will be, Alpha or not. And this is the only way I know to keep you safe. To keep this village safe.”_

_“I don’t know what to do.”_

_“If you ask me to burn it all down. I will. I promise you I will, right this moment. If you feel you cannot continue to do this, I will kill him, and destroy everything he has ever touched._

_“No. No. I...it’s only another year or so. I—I can do this, Dad. I can.”_

“I don’t know, sir,” Ben finally said, casting his eyes downward towards his feet.

“Such a pathetic child,” Snoke hissed. “When I found you, I saw what all masters live to see... Raw, untamed power and beyond that, something truly special. The potential of your bloodline. So far, you have disappointed me beyond all measure.”

Master. Ben loathed when Snoke referred to himself as such. “I've given everything I have to you and still….” His jaw clenched and he looked up again, staring into Snoke’s cool, callous blue eyes. Because he was tired, and jaded, and saturated to the bone with anger. “I cannot win _every_ fight. It’s not realistic! And I think losing every once in a while is a good lesson to lea—“ Ben yelped as Snoke’s fist connected with his face. Ben ate the blow, so very used to Snoke using his fist when he felt disrespected. It was almost as if he couldn’t feel the pain anymore. Almost. 

“You have so much of your mother’s defiance in you, your father’s heart. It’s disgusting.” Ben’s head shot up and suddenly, he was very frightened. “Oh, you thought I didn’t know? You and your silly little secrets.” 

Snoke laughed. “Unlike your father, the next time you talk back to me will be the last time you have a tongue.”

Ben inhaled, furious, spitting the blood in his mouth out onto the floor, but kept silent. He had to be careful. Very…very careful. What else did he know? Did he know where Leia—

“You wouldn’t have lost that fight if it wasn’t for that girl,” Snoke spat as he turned to Ben. “Hyo Ren’s no good for you. She makes you weak. Vulnerable. Pathetic. She will not be your mate when your mating year comes.”

Ben’s face went red with rage. He obeyed everything Snoke said. _Everything._ Did as Snoke commanded, sacrificing himself at every turn. So, why? Why did he have to take away one of the only things that made him feel alive? “Yes, sir,” he murmured.

“I want what was stolen from me,” Snoke fumed, pacing back and forth, his lean body tense with anger. “Han stole this village from me. He stole it and this family will get it back.” He whipped around to face Ben and the younger shifter quickly lowered his angry glare. “I’m giving Jaina to Pyre,” Snoke announced, his tone cold and final. “Their bond will elevate this family’s standings. Get us closer.”

Ben’s eyes went wide. “Jaina…she’s only...she’s only a chi—“

‘She’s bled. She’s an adult.”

“No,” Ben whispered furiously.

Snoke’s pacing ground to a halt and he turned slowly, very slowly towards Ben, eyes narrowed. “What did you just say?”

“I said…I said no! You said you loved my Mother and Mother wouldn’t want this. Before Mother left you—you used to be different, kinder! You use to…care about us! Now we’re just pawns you want to use. Jaina is a child! You can’t—"

Snoke rushed Ben, a hand clamping around his throat and squeezing so hard Ben felt Snoke shake with the force of his grip. Ben tried to scream but it came out as a pathetic choke. Snoke continued to squeeze. Ben was a tall, young man, but Snoke easily towered over him—a demon in human skin. With an ease that belied the pain Ben was in, Snoke lifted him off the ground until his feet dangled below him, the tips of his toes scratching the floor. “Become Alpha then.” His command was deceptively soft, reminiscent of a time when Snoke seemed kind to Ben. 

It was all a lie. It had all been a lie. 

Ben clawed at his Snoke’s hands, desperate to get air into his lungs.

“Become Alpha of Alderaan and I won’t touch a hair on her head.” Snoke tilted his head to the side, watching Ben’s face purpling with a smile. “You’ll have to speak up, Ben. I can’t hear you. Answer me!”

Ben forced all of his energy into a sad pathetic yelp. His vision swam as his eyes rolled back into his head. The world was starting to go dark and Ben knew…he just knew this was how he was going to die. Snoke had always told him that pain was the greatest tool to tame a rabid cur.

Ben _was_ a monster, but he was not the monster Snoke thought he was. He was a monster, made fragile through pain, thin like glass and gossamer. He could be ripped, and broken. Was ripped and broken.

“You're _pathetic_.” He tossed him away. Ben hit the ground, rolling, inhaling greedily. There was a sickening crack as he collided with the wall—a rib this time. One or two. “Not even worth killing. Get up,” Snoke growled.

When Ben didn’t move, Snoke kicked him sharply across his ribs. Twice for good measure. If they weren’t broken before, they were now.

Ben curled into a ball, trying to protect himself, but it was no use. All the energy he had was gone, drained out of his body. He was tired. He was so, so tired. 

“Remember. I may not have been chosen to lead this pack, but I can influence it. Han, this clan, you, this village? Would be _nothing_ without me! Nothing! And I’ll make sure each and every last one of you pays me back in kind.”

Ben couldn’t concentrate on anything. Everything hurt. His eyes fluttered closed.

“And you think because you and Han are close that you have power? You don’t! Not yet! And until then, guess what? It is your problem. Yours, Jaina’s, Jacen’s, Leia’s! I will rule this clan and no one but you will help me do it, you understand?”

Ben groaned as he passed out.

_It is your problem._

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, one. I love your comments. They literally are making me edit and post this WAY faster than I’ve ever done with any other fic.
> 
> You are amazing.
> 
> And two, let’s discuss this? Ben’s childhood trauma leaking out when he is stressed—or his authority threatened—until he is the threat to everyone around him?
> 
> Ceremony of Fire \- obviously this doesn't exist but here is the Ceremony of Water  
> Ren  
>  Imperial Fortress (Palace)  
>  Rose's tattoo looks like her medallion 


	4. the unmistakable path

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should add non-linear segments to this, even if they are flashbacks. Just know that the actual timing doesn't matter (just years ago).

“Mandrake does not scream when you pull it out of the ground, Jacen.”

“Yeah, Jaina. I know that. But that hasn’t stopped Tahiri from telling everyone that it does. _Everyone_. Including Valin even though we all know he’s some sort of conspiracy theorist. That brilliant move ended up with him ranting and raving about some place called Wild Space and all of us being creatures from other planets.”

“That’s _your_ best friend. I have no idea why you’re acting surprised that he’s howling in public about being from another world. This isn’t the first time.”

“Correction. That’s _your_ future mate who thinks he’s an alien.”

Jaina laughed. “Uh, no. My future mate is Finn and he is a well-adjusted wolf. Thanks.”

“ _Incredible_. A complete unmitigated disinterest in reality! Do you realize you're going to have to _fight_ Poe to get anywhere near mating with Finn? I’m talking—paws up, rumble to the death—fight for him? You’re a mage and I don’t care how much greenrot or edelweiss you throw at him, he’s going to smack your head off your shoulders and then laugh about it.” Jacen paused his rant to pluck the petals of a peony off a bush, pocketing them for later. “You should just mate with Valin.”

“ _You should just mate with Valin_ ,” Jaina parroted, rolling her eyes, staring at the leafy green bisected by the path they were walking on. She mentally pointed out a few, reminding herself on the way back to do like Jacen did and collect some of the foliage.

They were halfway between Coruscant and Alderaan at this point in their journey, taking one of the main roads, a swerving path that cut through nothing but fields and fields of green. At the statue of Revan and Bastilla, if they took a sharp left, they would head towards Takodana. North, Kashyyk, and southwest, Endor. Mandalore and Csilla were located northeast and southeast of Coruscant, which was far behind them. Not many ventured farther north than Kashyyk, as the region had been marked “No Where.”

The real reason they were making this journey the Blood Moon was—stars. It just hit her. Her snog-nose, big eared, stupid brother was Supreme Alpha of Core. She’d always known he was meant to lead, meant to protect. Hell, he’d suffered the brunt of Snoke’s “fatherly love” on their behalf more times than she could fathom. In the end it made sense that he belonged in that chair. His mate? Well, Jaina would find out more about her soon. Not like Rey of Takodana was an open book.

“We should hurry. Ben will need his calligraphy set soon and I don’t want to hear his mouth.”

“Sure. But you’re changing the subject.”

“I’ll end it then. I’m absolutely not going to mate with Valin.”

Jacen groaned and she ignored him, as always. “What I do plan on doing, oh, sweet brother of mine, is drawing up a diversion spell for Poe then crafting a love potion for Finn once we get back. If all goes according to plan, guess what? I win!”

“First, love potions exploit feelings, they don’t create them.”

“Jacen. Mighty Maker on high, pull the stick out of your ass and shut up!”

“Well excuse me for trying to save you some time—do you feel that?”

Jaina forced her gaze from the trees around them and turned to look back at her brother. She hadn’t felt anything. Yet, Jacen was staring back down the path leading back to Coruscant, his body tense, his eyes flicking back and forth, back and forth, as if he were waiting for a wave of…whatever he’d felt, to return. To help him out, Jaina moved to his side, staring down the same path as he was.

Jacen was a _spiritualist_ mage while Jaina was a _physicalist_ mage. Jacen was more perceptive, more sensitive to energies and feelings, while Jaina needed to touch, smell and feel. However, they could share those powers if they were close to one another.

Her eyes snapped wide open the moment she was abreast of him—her entire body shivering with both the feeling and the implications. _Impossible_.

“How far are we from Coruscant?” Jaina breathed.

“Does it matter?” Jacen said, breaking into a sprint.

_No. It doesn’t,_ she thought right before she took off after her brother.

As Beta wolves of Alderaan, their pedigree _should_ render the twins powerful and capable enough to handle a lot of situations. However, one of the strengths of being raised as both mages and under the tutelage of Alderaanian leaders was decision making.

Running headfirst into the source of the buzzing in their heads wasn’t a wise decision. There were other, more prudent things, they could have done—for instance, calling in the Allied Core armies, but that wasn’t a wise decision either. Only they could handle this. So, instead of charging full steam ahead into the Supreme Alpha’s tent, the stop short, heading for the tent north of it with the Mandalorian, Endor, and Kashyyyk flags flapping in the wind.

Jacen reached the tent first and rushed through the opening without a by your leave. Which he regretted.

“Poe! Bad, bad news, my friend! We’ve got to—oh.”

Poe and Finn weren’t a secret. No real relationship was. You spend enough time accidentally inhaling someone’s scent on a person and you start to put things together. Even so, years of playing grab-ass all over Core was evidence enough to know that the two were more than just friends.

Jacen, however, had no desire, none, not even a little bit, of actually _seeing_ it. And just think of what Jaina would do if she—

“Get off of him, you filthy fucking wolf!”

—saw it.

The air crackled around Jacen, and something solid and vaguely Jaina shaped scurried past him, leaving behind the smell of a very pissed off Beta in her wake. Before Jacen could stop her or hell, blink, Poe was flying across the room and crashing into a table. When Jacen looked up from the heap–of–Poe on the floor, Jaina was wrapped around Finn’s naked torso…in Poe’s bed.

Finn groaned as her hands tightened around him. “Get off of me _right_ now, young lady.”

“Oh, no, no, nooo, my little cherub! Don’t say that! I just wanted to make sure that awful man wasn’t hurting you.” Jaina raised her hand and wiped a line of sweat from Finn’s forehead with the billowing sleeve of her dress. Cognitive dissonance allowed her to ignore _why_ Finn would be sweating. “He didn’t right? He didn’t put those grubby little hands near you, did he?”

Poe finally pulled himself from the broken pieces of the table, glaring in the direction of whatever made him go airborne. When he figured it out, he rolled his eyes with the exasperation of a man who’d been in this position before and was absolutely tired of it. “Oh, it’s this crazy bitch again,” he muttered.

Jaina’s head whipped towards the Alpha of Mandalore, snarling. “You wanna say that to my face, mutt?”

Poe threw his hands up. “Are we going to do this every single time you happen to catch us together? Will this stop when I claim him? Will that make you act with some civility, you uncultured, feral banshee?”

Jaina’s face, the poor girl, drained of color. She turned on Finn, incredulity raising her brows to her hairline and pulling the corners of her mouth down. “You’re really going to let him defile this sweet beautiful body like that?” She grabbed Finn’s cheeks between her hands. “You deserve so much more! The world! I can give you the world if you just let me—"

“Get your spooky hands off my mate, you she-devil!”

Jacen, being of sounder mind and body than his twin, contemplated taking a seat on the wolf-cat rug at the foot of Poe and enjoy the show. Poe and Jaina were natural enemies, all born from their obsession with one Omega. It wasn’t rare—people fought over Omegas all the time. People _killed_ over Omegas. Their mutual love and respect for Ben would keep this from ending in an actual bloodbath, so their squabbles were one of the most entertaining things ever to watch. However, the tingling in the back of his head was getting stronger and that weighed far more than their little spat.

“I really do hate to break up this week’s duel between you two, but Ben has lost control of Kylo—"

That did the trick. “What…what did you just say?” Poe asked, panic slowly starting to morph his features into something less than the handsome shit wolf he was. 

“Kylo. He’s free.”

It took no time at all to get across the short stretch of land between the two tents, with Poe running so hard, he’d practically left them all behind, his feet kicking up dust and loose rocks. They rounded the corner to enter into the tent, front flaps facing due north and were just _barely_ able to miss Valin and Rose’s bodies being blown back through the air.

Poe raced over to his Beta who’d rolled to a stop near a cart full of luggage. “What in the hell is happening?”

“I don’t…” Rose’s words caught in her throat as struggled to sit up. She licked the corner of her mouth, a thin line of blood nestled in the crack of broken skin. “They were arguing, which as of this morning, not a big deal. But then there was a…a roar from inside. Me and Valin ran in, thinking that someone was attacking the Dyad couple but—Poe. It was insane. The Supreme Alpha’s eyes shifted to gold and he was hunched as if he were ready to attack anything that breathed!”

“Rey is still in there?”

Rose nodded. “She’s holding her own but it looked like she could use the help, you know. So, we tried to help. Which was a mistake because we must have triggered some kind of protective mode or something because he went from hunting Rey to us! As if _we_ were the ones trying to hurt her! Next thing we know some…force was pushing us out.”

“He’s an alien!” Valin cried his spot on the ground.

Rose stopped, looked up to her Alpha and began to cackle, a delighted sound that contrasted with her current state. “I mean I’ve seen Ben fight before but ... wow. _Wow_. He moved so fast I didn’t even see him coming! That was actually the coolest thing I’ve _eve_ r—” Rose pinched her mouth together when Poe glared at her. “But, you know, of course, we’ve got to get in there and stop him.”

Poe turned towards the twins. “Can you break through to him?”

The twins said nothing as they began to move, each landing in a spot on opposite sides of the tent. Jaina’s eyes closed first, followed by Jacen’s. Then they began to chant.

Kylo liked _this_ human.

Immensely.

She was gentle, liked to listen to others talk, thought before she spoke. It was all unnecessary crap, that gooey mushy shit that made everything stick together but that’s what humans did.

Even his human, Ben, was neck deep in unnecessary worthless bullshit. Soft-hearted idiot.

Human beings were complex and hard to understand. They were driven by stupid things, wants instead of needs. It drove him crazy.

But not Kylo. Things like tact and consideration were lost on him. He didn’t need much, but one of the things he considered a necessity was being denied to him. And it made him angry.

Rey— _Kira_ —belonged to him. His to defend. His to protect.

His.

His.

_His._

And not because of some absurd prophecy. Not because these foolish humans saw a moon that just so happened to be red and followed an old wolf who thought he could predict prophecies.

No.

It was because she _was_ his. Kylo knew that, he’d _always_ known that. He discovered her wolf, hidden and impossibly lonely and within moments, had imprinted on her. Just like that. Easy, because it was supposed to be easy when it’s _supposed_ to happen.

There was something about Rey’s smell. Kylo adored it. Kylo wanted to claim it.

And he would. As soon as she–

“Stop running!” Kylo roared.

He reached for Rey again, who was now dodging him like an oil slicked otter, his claw flying through the air, tearing through another section of their tent. The irises of Kylo’s golden eyes dilated. At some point, he’d overturned the long wooden table over the firepit, and the orange light of the roaring flame wasn’t easy on his eyes. He turned away from the light and focused on her.

She was _so_ small, he could lift her with one hand if he wanted to, but he didn’t because she was shaking. Not because she was scared. Oh, no. Kylo would be able to smell fear on her. Rey, to ever-loving delight, was pissed off.

Kylo grinned.

She smelled really good when she was angry.

“Get a hold of yourself, you stupid idiot! What are you five, losing control of your wolf like this? You’re the leader of the entire fucking clan and you’re behaving like a _child_!”

Kylo growled. “Even a child knows that you denying me is wrong! You’re mine,” he ground out.

“Not yet, I am! And at this rate I won’t be!”

Kylo ignored that. Obviously, Rey was still delusional. So, he tried another tactic.

“This could be fun, Rey,” Kylo purred. “Let your wolf out and let’s play!”

“This isn’t a game! Get yourself together! Right now!”

Oh, she commanded with steel in her voice. Such a strong little wolf, she was. Perfect, absolutely perfect. Kylo crouched low, ready to pounce again, show how perfect they could be together, when whispered words hummed in the back of his head. He shook his head hard, trying to dispel their effect, but the chanting only got louder. His lips curled back over his teeth and he growled.

_“Eyah seh maat, shu kor huaan"_

Kylo could feel tethers hooking into him, piercing his soul—dragging, pulling yanking.

He didn’t have much time. If he could stop it, then maybe. He took one final savoring look at Rey in the flesh before he pivoted on heels and raced out of the tent. Dust settled around his feet as he ground to a halt in the center of the clearing, his eyes sweeping back and forth, looking for his target.

The twins.

_There you are._

“Missed me?” he spat out nastily as he dug his feet into the soil.

Kylo targeted Jaina first because she could take him out the fastest, talented thing she was. He lunged forward, intent on—well he wasn’t quite sure what he would do to her, he never did—but before he could reach her, she raised on hand and screamed.

_Itsu! Hadzuska koshûjontû!_

If there was one language Kylo hated, it was fucking Sith! What an exasperating, aggravating language! They’d only learned it to control him. He knew it. They shouldn’t have the ability to tap into the wells of power darkness provided, but Leia’s children were abnormally gifted.

His gaze shifted over to Jacen who was edging closer. He didn’t hate them, he could never. But in moments like these, he wished they’d never existed.

_Ur-kaa!_

Per Jacen’s command, Kylo’s movements turned to sludge, his feet heavy as if stones fastening him to the ground. He tried moving, to pull his legs out of their invisible bonds, but his body felt empty, like all his energy was draining out at the seams.

“Stop—right—now,” Kylo ground out, his vision spotting.

He took a swipe at a doubled vision of Jaina, kicked out towards Jacen but he couldn’t get to either of them. They were so, so far away.

The twins shifted, twisting around him in a _sunwise_ direction. There chanting grew louder, and louder, until it was all he could hear echoing inside of his head. With a burst of power, they placed their hands to the ground, kneeling in the soft dirt. The sounds of their Sith song, made to truss him to their will, bury him deep in Ben’s soul, sounded harsh and Kylo shuddered.

He could do this. He just…had to get…to his feet.

The ground fell away to reveal a double spiral indentation that stretched from their hands to encircle Kylo.

_Na-hah ur su ka-haat. Su ka haru aat, Kylo._

The spirals fingered out, cords of strange patterns and words traveling towards him.

“Please. I beg you. Stop.”

The spiral reached him and Kylo fell, and fell, and fell, slipping into the darkness.

_Zhol kash dinora._

For Rey, watching anyone be shackled to their essence in result of their biology always rubbed her the wrong way. As if the cure for abnormality always caused pain. A shunning that coated her soul black and blue, like claw shaped bruises.

He’d lost control of his wolf. A dangerous thing, speaking highly of an incompetence she knew Ben did not possess. Yet, it was the emotion Ben’s wolf displayed that affected her the most. Not his words—his wolf was a crude jackass with boundary issues, a foreboding sign for their mating. If Rey had ever planned on mating with Ben. And she wasn’t. His wolf’s temperament aside, it had been a myriad of emotions, _feelings_ , that fluttered across his face, like he’d never learned to shield them. Like he’d never had a reason, too, unlike his master.

It was heartbreaking, considering the lack of relationship Rey had with her own wolf.

Now she was staring out of the tent at Ben’s prostrated form sprawled across the ground. His chest was falling and rising with each haggard breath he took, his eyes a muddy mix of gold and brown.

Rey took a closer look, a closer step, searching for signs of danger—that she would blink and the wild thing that lived in Ben’s soul would return. But no…nothing. Then her feet were moving without permission, driven by instinct constructed half of biology, and half by an earnest—what?

She didn’t know but she kept moving, stumbling into the clearing like she was the one who’d lost control, falling by his side.

_What’s wrong with him? Get up. Is he okay? Will he be okay? GET UP. What did they do to him? GET UP!_

There was an intuition buzzing through her, a current of lightning, a weighted feeling, like Ben was the center of gravity. She reached out, fingers extended, to push the hair that’d fallen across Ben’s sweaty brow away. She needed to look at his eyes. Then she would be able to tell if he was okay or not. Because…she needed him to be.

Her hand was caught in its downward accent towards his face.

“Don’t.”

The command was soft and the grip around her wrist was firm but kind. Rey’s eyes shot up, and once they did, he let go, taking a step back, but still hovering, as if she couldn’t be trusted to listen. So instead, she sat frozen, legs bent under her as she stared back at him. He, too, was still looking at her, soft loamy brown eyes that penetrated and assessed. Rey felt as if he were reading her, and she tried not to let the uneasiness show on her face.

“Please don’t touch him yet,” he requested. “Not until Kylo is truly subdued.”

Rey frowned and although she knew the answer, she still asked. “Kylo?”

The younger man pressed his lips together as he’s seen through Rey’s faux obliviousness. “Ben’s wolf.”

Rey’s jaw clenched.

“Let’s can continue this conversation inside.” Poe chanced a look behind him at the gathering storm. other Coruscanti villagers had begun venturing out of their tents, eyes wide and inquisitive. “Let’s get him out of here before they begin to talk.”

Rey watched as wolves, some she’d never met, rushed around the unconscious Alpha and hustled him back into their tent.

It was a disaster, now that she had a chance to look at it outside the haze of adrenaline rushing through her veins caused by Ben advancing, and advancing, a solitary focus that had driven her to the brink of her own control. His single mindedness was almost…admirable, if not frustratingly annoying.

The only bed that Ben— _Kylo_ —hadn’t overturned was Rey’s. She offered it up, as if they had a choice, but Rey liked to assume she had control even in the midst of a storm of Ben’s making. As they laid him down, Rey took another hard look at the shifter who looked like Ben and smelled like Ben but obviously wasn’t acting like Ben.

_Kylo_. Rey tested the name on her lips and scowled. Ben’s wolf had a winning fucking personality.

Every shifter had a wolf inside of them, and every wolf had a human shifter who shared their soul. They were one. It was another side of them, an inner dwelling, an opposing force that balanced them out.

Rey had one, too, of course. Her wolf’s name was...

Rey blinked. Right. She couldn’t remember her wolf’s name.

And it was here, as she watched the Supreme Alpha of Core slumped after showcasing an uncanny ability to go berserk, that sudden jealousy seized Rey. _Maker_. She was _jealous_! Infuriated because Ben had a strong and vibrant connection with Kylo—even if the wolf was a sociopath—and she had nothing.

Rey pressed her lips together until she could feel her teeth pressing against the flesh. Her wolf was unimportant, she’d never been. Rey had gotten this far without her, had accomplished so many things on her own that there was no use of missing something she’d hadn’t seen, or felt in years. Decades.

If she was strong enough to endure the loneliness of being a half empty shell on the inside for this long, she would survive forevermore.

Life went on outside of her sad musings. The moment Ben was settled under the covers with the young man watching over him, the young woman that had circled the open field in an attempt to subdue Kylo marched up to her. Her features were soft—heart shaped face and brown eyes framed by long eyelashes. Rey blinked and realized she was _identical_ to the young man at Ben’s side. Brow. Nose. Lips. Cheeks.

There was a hard poke and her eyes shifted down to see a slim digit digging into her chest. “What did you do?” the woman grounded out.

Rey mouth fell open in unabashed shock. _What did I do? What did_ I _do?_

The young woman was angry— _very_ angry. Her aura radiated fury, forehead creased, eyes flashing, and her body tense like she was mere moments from lifting Rey up and breaking her over her knee. In reaction, in surprise, Rey _almost_ took a step back, wanting to escape the fury of her glare but no, she didn’t. She was—technically—the ruling, currently conscious Alpha in this tent, and she would not be cowed, nor moved. So instead, she stood taller and returned the woman’s glare, unwilling to bend.

“That’s a bold accusation, so I’m going to need you to be very, very sure. What makes you so confident that _I_ ,” and Rey took a step towards her, “did something.” She wanted the young girl to know that she was _directly_ accusing the Alpha Prime of Core. 

Not that the smaller shifter gave a shit. It was almost as if her ire grew! “Look at him! He has more control over his wolf than any other shifter I’ve known. And the one time he does loses control, it’s around you?” She pressed closer until she and Rey were almost nose and nose, her head tilted back at an imperious angle. “Whatever happened, it was _you_ who was the catalyst!”

“Please,” Rey replied, aggravate that she was even having this argument. She smacked the woman’s finger away from her chest and plopped down on the edge of her bed, careful to avoid Ben’s feet. “That sounds like a personal problem. Considering Ben and his wolf—"

“His name is Kylo,” she growled. “The least you could do is use his name.”

“ _Kylo_ ,” she repeated, derisively, “have never been in this situation before, I suggest you begin to think a little more objectionably.” She began to turn away from her, done with this conversation, but stopped. “And who the hell are you?”

“A wolf that doesn’t mind her manners, that’s who!” Poe yelled from across the tent.

The woman ignored Poe with a roll of her brown eyes. “His younger sister. So, you can understand my concern on _why_ my brother almost killed you! Now tell me!”

Rey felt the shift in her eyes, red bleeding in with the green. “Oh, don’t you fret. Your brother couldn’t have harmed me if he tried. All he did was make a mess.”

The young man at Ben’s side pinched the bridge of his nose before he reached out and placed a pleading hand on the young woman’s arm. She sighed like retreating was the most painful thing she’d ever done in her life and stomped off.

“You’ll have to excuse her,” he said. “She’s been a little…emotional today.” He stood and approached Rey with his head held high but compared to the young woman; it came off as a sign of respect and not contempt. “I’m Jacen of Alderaan. That’s my twin sister, Jaina. We’re Ben’s younger siblings. We were headed back to Alderaan to help with the move when we…sensed, for lack of a better word, Kylo’s emergence.”

“They’re mages, Rey,” Finn said. “The Mageis of Alderaan. That one, over there? She’s the…clingy one I’ve told you about.”

_Oh_ , Rey thought, thinking back on all the stories she and Finn shared. _The one with the crush_. 

Finn continued fussing around the tent, turning things over, picking things up but paused when his hands landed on one of The Sacraments. He held it up and tried to shake the dirt from it. “Do you know how long it’ll take to clean this?” he muttered under his breath.

“So, you felt something,” Rey continued. “How did you know what it was? The firespit over there just implied he never loses control.”

Jacen huffed. “Well, not exactly ‘never’ but it’s been a very long time. It only happens when he feels challenged.”

Rey was not convinced. “He’s been the Alpha of Alderaan for decades. The way you wolves fight for authority, I hardly think a day goes by where he doesn’t feel challenged.”

“He said _Kylo_ felt challenged, not Ben,” Jaina added sharply.

Jacen nodded in agreement. “One cannot become Alpha in our clan without exhibiting control and he learned his control under a very cruel master. Kylo is driven off pure emotion and desire, so Ben _can’t_ let him loose, not if he wants to remain leader. Kylo would only emerge if…someone really, _really_ got under his skin.”

Rey opened her mouth to defend herself, a burst of ego and defiance and resentment at being painted a scapegoat but she snapped it shut. She didn’t need, wasn’t going to explain herself to _anyone_. There was only one person to be blamed for Ben losing control of that…that animal. And he was currently unconscious.

Rey noticed Jacen ‘reading’ her again, his eyes narrowing as he looked her up and down. “Is it possible that we could step outside for a moment?”

“Why do we need to—”

Jacen gave her a sharp meaningful look. “Trust me, Alpha Prime. You’ll want to do this.”

Eventually, Rey nodded.

“Thank you,” Jacen turned to Poe and a look was shared between them that caused Poe to snap into action.

“Rose. You know the Alpha of Endor, correct?”

The tips of the Rose’s ears turned red, and she nodded, a shy movement that Rey had never, _ever_ seen on Rose before. “Good. Go find Hux and tell him that tonight’s meeting for tomorrow’s transfer to the Imperial Fortress is still in effect, however our Supreme Alpha and Alpha Prime will not be in attendance.”

“Shouldn’t I be making that decision?”

Poe tensed. “Right. Uh, would you like to attend the meeting?”

Rey was still upset but she flashed the Mandalorian a small, tight smile. “Nah. Continue throwing out your orders.”

She and Poe had a relationship that was just shy of antagonistic, like if a brother and sister only kept from killing one another because of duty and respect. Sometimes she liked to needle at him, make him swallow down his own egotism. That was made all the more fun by now ranking over him.

Poe continued, if not a bit more stiffly, giving out commands and Rey watched, studying his confidence in directing a room full of people. Rey knew how to lead. She did not know how to rule. Another reason.

Poe eventually walked over to Finn and pulled a broken piece of table from his hands. “Time for you to learn how to delegate, oh Imperial Aide, you. Let’s find some pups to get this room back together so we can finish…uh…discussing what we were discussing in my tent.” He paused and inhaled deeply like he was praying for strength. “And Jaina, make sure—”

“You’re seriously not about to tell me what to do with my own brother, are you? I know what I’m doing, dogbreath.” Her eyes jutted from Poe to Finn and back before her shoulders slumped. Sighing, “Just…go. I’ve got it.”

With that settled, they all filed out of the room, Rose in whatever direction Hux was in, Finn and Poe towards the remaining Alpha tent, leaving Jaina behind. Rey could feel the young shifter’s eyes on her back, but she was most certainly was not about to act like the little chit scared her. 

She began following being Poe and Finn when Jacen tugged on her arm, head nodding in the opposite direction.

Rey let the man walk a few paces in front of her, finally able to catch his scent in the draft. A Beta. She’d heard of the Maegis, faintly, only because she knew nothing of mage work and wondering about two of the most powerful mages in Core didn’t seem like her business.

He was taking slow deliberate steps, his hands tucked behind his back, his head tilted towards the clouds as if they had all the time in the world. Well, they did, seeing as her plans for the day had been altered but she would like to get to the point.

They edged up to the crystalline clear river—Alav—that ran along the lengthy path from Core to the nearest hamlet settlement called Avaal. Avaalians were in charge of Core’s water sterilization so there was a rudimentary aqueduct system running fresh water up and down its length from Avall to Core’s reserves and back. It was here, over the wooden pipes and trickling water, that Jacen paused.

He plodded towards the riverbank, tugging the hem of his pants above his ankles to avoid muddying them up, and began to search for something in the tall grass that lined it. Eventually, he tore up a purplish root from the damp soil and knocked the dirt off it before he stood, holding his prize in his hand.

“This is called _vachelli_ ,” he stated, nodding towards the root. “No one really pays attention to it even though it grows all over the place. But if you combine it with a few other ingredients, it becomes quite useful. Especially when the compound interacts with the bark of a _Lunest_ tree in a particular way.”

Rey paused briefly, the name _Lunest_ echoing in her memory. Finn or Maz would know better. “I’ve heard of it before.”

“I’m sure,” Jacen replied, a brow raised before dropping the root back to the bank. “You seemed surprised when Finn mentioned that my sister and I were mages.”

Rey nodded. “I wasn’t aware the Maegis were related to Ben directly. And most mages come from Dothamir not Alderaan—”

“My mother lived in Dathomir for a time. Her father, my grandfather, was rumored to have deep Dothamirian ties, a touch of Dothamirian blood even, one of the sources of his battle prowess, but rumors vary on his exact origins—Dothamir, Tatooine, Mustafar. But he did spend time there, learning their ways, thus becoming a Dothamirian by rite. His daughter did the same.”

Rey tilted her head in surprise. “Your mother was a Dothamirian tribute?”

Jacen chuckled, gaze idling back over the Alav. “Not quite. My mother and uncle were born on Polis Massa and then separated at birth. She was adopted by a couple in Alderaan, but as soon as the Dothamirian mages found out about her, and who her father was, they required her to finish her his training. Not all Dothamirians are gifted with the ability to wield magic, but if they are, they are prized by Dothamir and Core folk alike. Such was the case with my mother, Leia. Because the magic was so inherent and powerful within her, her children inherited the trait.”

Rey cocked her head to the side, a laugh ready on her lips. “You're telling me Ben is a mage, too?” That should be impossible. No one was _that_ talented.

“Oh,” Jacen’s eyes widened and his mouth formed an O. “You aren't familiar with Dothamir and their ways so you wouldn't know. You will be though, once you are mated, so don’t worry. Ben doesn't weld magic—he wields power, the same as his grandfather, which is different. When the magic is passed down, it is only passed down through the birth of magi Twins.”

Rey frowned, waiting for Jacen to continue. He didn’t. He squatted down to shift through the greenery and dirt again, this time dirtying up his pants “Jacen,” she stressed.

“It is a very complicated story about our father,” he said, eyes still on the bank. He reached forward and plucked some kind of long grass stems from the bottom of the riverbed. “And who we thought our father was and—the point is you will find this all out, because you will be our family soon.”

It felt…nice, his words. To hear of a family so willing to accept her into the fold when she’d gone without one for so long. In another world, she would be thrilled, ready to jump into their circle, their tribe, their clan and immerse herself in their love but…

“Jacen. I’m not going to be Ben’s mate.”

There. She said it, again. 

Jacen made a humming noise in the back of his throat. “Something in my spirit knew all along this proclamation was coming. It would be the only reason Ben would lose control of Kylo.” The next thing he added to his collection were a handful of yellow petal flowers. He plucked a petal, placed it in his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. Must have tasted…good or something, because he pocketed it, along with his other treasures.

“I’m…I’m not the right person to be Alpha Prime of Core. I cannot tell you why but I’m,” she kicked the dirt in frustration. “I’m just not.”

Jacen picked the vachelli root up again and held it out, as if he imagining what it would look like in her hair. When he found an angle that he liked, he smiled. “Is it because you’re an Omega?”

It was like someone had reached into her chest with a hand made of ice and squeezed her heart between its fingers. Rey couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t think. “I…think…I think you’re mistaken.”

Jacen, on the other hand, found her sudden lack of verbosity hilarious and cackled. “Jaina is a “feely” mage; she deals in the physical realm. Back in our village she is used as a spotter of sorts. She can smell the very essence of a person from across a room, or a _tent,”_ he said, peering up at her, “…or a clearing in the middle of a village. Me, I can _sense_ their essence, their designation, for example. It ends up with us arguing often, what you can touch versus what you can feel but when she accused you of doing something, she was referring to that—your true status.”

Rey released a shuddering breath, trying to find the energy to inhale again. It was hard.

Jacen leaned back. “Kylo knows too. No amount of scent altering, or hormone blocking can fool a wolf that strong. So, imagine how infuriated he was that someone he considers his intended mate, an Omega at that, is denying him. That’s what you did, right? You told him your mating couldn’t happen, just as you told me. You are the reason, Rey. You challenged his wolf.”

“We aren’t mated yet. He doesn’t get to dictate—”

The man smiled. “I never said that Kylo was a gentleman. Crass, feral, instinctive. Like I said, it’s why Ben is in control.”

“Does…does Ben know?”

Jacen shook his head. “Ben’s a real stickler for rules, ways, systems, rituals, so I doubt it. Kylo may tell him one day—if he felt he couldn’t…tame you into accepting him. Real piece of work, that wolf. My only warning is when Kylo feels that challenge rearing up again, he’ll return. I’m not telling you to play Little Miss Omega but I am telling you what’ll happen if you decide to defy him in that nature again. So, for now, play nice.”

“But I don’t want—”

Up until that moment, Jacen had been as calm as a slumbering fathier. But it seemed that even his patience had limits. “This isn’t about you anymore, Rey,” Jacen snipped, his composure snapping like a twig.

“It is about me!”

“No! No, it is not! Do you know what was in you and Ben’s bowls the night of the Blood Moon? Do you wonder why they keep telling us the story of Cordia’s Blood Flower over and over again? It’s not some silly old tale about bees, for stars’ sake. When we are all born, a vial of our blood is taken and stored on Delphi. That vial Durteel Haza poured into your bowl? Along with sedatives, and whatever mystical magical bonding shit they do on that mountain, contained a drop of your mate's blood. That blood is used to create a bond far deeper than a normal mating.”

Rey was stricken with what she’d just heard. “What exactly are you saying?”

“That,” and Jacen stood, finally facing Rey again. “His blood is your blood and your blood is his. His life is yours and yours belongs to him.”

Rey frowned. “That’s…that’s not what they told us.”

Jacen laughed, a dry, sardonic sound. “Why would they need to? Most people would jump at the chance! It wouldn't matter to them. But for you? If you and Ben do not mate, you will both die. You two are one. It doesn't matter to me that you are lying through your teeth about who you are. The only concern I have is for my brother’s life. No one forced you to partake—you did it on your own volition and I will not see him die because you made a foolish decision!”

“But it’s a mistake!” Rey cried. “Why can't anyone understand that? I walked onto the festival grounds sure beyond any doubt that I would not be selected. It was impossible! And here I am listening to childhood stories about a man I was never supposed to get close to!”

Jacen’s shoulders relaxed and he looked at Rey with something akin to pity. “You ever consider,” Jacen tried softly, “that when our Gods make a mistake, it is no mistake?”

Rey’s fist balled up at her side. She was tired of sitting out in the middle of nowhere being lectured by a man she'd just met. She turned back towards the road and began the march back to Coruscant.

“Rey,” Jacen called to her retreating back. “You’re so used to running from what has been given to you, who you are. Stop. You were chosen. Accept it.”

Rey kept walking.

_Accept it. Yeah, because it was just that easy._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT WAS REY. REY WAS THE LIAR. 
> 
> and I know it seems like I keep writing her as a liar but it feels like that Rey HAD to lie a lot in her past, to survive, that she would do anything to live another day, and that includes lying. Also, having her identity withheld wrong her, where here, she is withholding her identity from everyone else.
> 
> CIRCLES! 
> 
> Also, not a lot of people are from where they are really from here. Alternate ALTERNATE universe
> 
>   
> [Jacen](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Darth_Caedus)
> 
> [ Jaina ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jaina_Solo_Fel)
> 
> [ Valin](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Valin_Horn)
> 
> SITH TRANSLATIONS
> 
> Eyah seh maat, shu kor huaan  
> Unknown. Something soothing, something pluck at Kylo's emergent soul. 
> 
> Itsu! Hadzuska koshûjontû!  
> Chain, Shadow-born
> 
> Ur-kaa!  
> Halt! 
> 
> Na-hah ur su ka-haat. Su ka haru aat, Kylo.  
> Basically - Bring yourself here, sir. 
> 
> Zhol kash dinora  
> It is done.


	5. red magic green magic

**Core Clan Village: Takodana**

Years ago…

“You feel how the bow doesn’t give much? That’s its strength. Pull back until you feel that each and every time. Now, don’t release it until I tell you to.”

“Julien, love. I can’t say that I think is your best idea—”

“No, no, Coriander,” the Arctic wolf admonished, shaking his head. “She thinks we don’t trust her, so I’m going to show her that we do.” Julien bent over, plucked the melon from his satchel and placed it on his head. “Now, Rey, I’m not saying you _have_ to hit your target but if you miss…you know…that’s an arrow through my face. But I trust you.” He clapped. “So, come on. Remember everything I taught you and go for it.”

Julien marched to the tree they were standing in front of, turned and stared at Rey with eyes so wide, she thought she could see to the back of his head The muscles in his neck were taut and he vibrated with deathly anticipation. Rey didn’t know if it was sheer terror reflecting in his eyes or sheer, stupid confidence.

Rey took one look at him, sighed, and lowered the bow. “This is emotional terrorism. I’m not going to shoot at you. Not to prove something as silly as trust. I miss and Coriander is going to flay me alive.”

“Correct, dear sister!” Coriander said from her perch on the tree above her mate.

“And if you do hit your target, which I’m sure you will, I’m going to flay _him_ alive for thinking this was a good idea.”

Julien looked up, pouting. “You say that as if I have poor decision-making skills.”

Coriander frowned. “There’s a melon on your head and you want my sister to shoot an arrow at it. Yeah. Piss poor decision-making skills.”

“You weren’t complaining about my decision-making skills when I decided to mate with you,” Julien said under his breath. Instinctively, he ducked when she threw a branch at his head.

“Are you two done? Because I promised Finn I would meet him at the fountain when we finish.”

Coriander sprung from the tree branch, sprightly and flexible like a lothcat, landing almost soundlessly. “Finn’s going to have to wait, pup. The idea was to bring out here so you could talk freely, not fling projectiles at my mate’s head. So! The three of us are going to sit down and listen to what’s bothering you, and then the three of us are going to come up with a solution.”

Rey fought the temptation to roll her eyes. She dropped the bow Julien given her after she’d won the rabbit hunt a few years back and took a seat on the moss-covered ground of Nyneve with a loud sigh. Nyneve forest was a few scant miles from Nyneve Lake, so the land was lush and fresh. She’s rather be at Nyneve right now, sinking to the bottom, digging her feet into its loamy bottom rather than being here. Rey knew this conversation was going to come up eventually, she just thought she’d be more prepared to avoid it.

“During your hunt, you told Julien that he didn’t trust you.”

“I mean I did miss my mark because he thought I was going to step on a twig,” she muttered.

“Right. And we—wait. Did she? Because I find that hard to believe,” Coriander said, glancing sidelong at Julien.

The frost Alpha shook his head sheepishly, and Coriander’s eyes rolled heavenward.

“Like I was saying, you said that _I_ don’t trust you. What did you mean by that?” Coriander took a seat across from her. “What would make you think that?”

Rey searched around for a lie she could throw out, but she’d never been that great of a liar and Coriander could sniff ‘em out like they were covered in banthashit.

“Ever since I got sick…” Rey paused and tucked her gangly legs under her. She was starting to grow, more woman than pup, but her body was still an awkward collection of sharp angles and long lean limbs. She fingered one of the long scars across her thighs, which made her all the more self-conscious. The scars were caused by welts which were triggered by her medication.

Her “sickness”. Maz never gave it a name. Never told her the ingredients in the horrible tasting herbal tea she had to drink once a month. The only consolation she had was in a year or so her body would _finally_ adjust, and the painful welts would stop appearing so often. Or so she guessed. She had to take their word for it.

They never told her anything, just wanted her to accept it. And they wanted to talk to her about trust. _Yeah karkin right._

“You think we’ve been treating you differently,” Coriander stated when Rey didn’t finish, observant as always.

“Yeah and I want to know why!” Rey said, suddenly angry. “Why are there all of these whispers and half answered questions? Why every time I walk into a room it goes still? Is it because I’m sick? Is it because I’m not as strong as you? Are you not proud of me anymore?”

Julien made his way over to Coriander and took a knee behind her. His hand came up to her shoulder to massage it. Rey narrowed her gaze at the tender show of affection before looking away.

“You think I’m not proud of you.” Another statement.

“You respect strength and I’m not strong enough. Maybe because now you have him,” Rey mumbled, her eyes still lowered to the ground. She began plucking at the moss, waiting for Julien to laugh at her or for Coriander to call her stupid.

“Rey, look at me.”

She huffed and did as she was told. What greeted her was Coriander’s tear-filled frown.

“You, Rey, are _the_ most important thing to me. Father knows that. Julien knows that. And I _am_ proud of you. I _love_ you, more than anything, and I want you to never forget that. And _yes_ , you are right, I have been treating you differently since you got sick, but you must understand just how frightened I was when Finn told me what happened. When I saw you on the floor, convulsing in pain and I—” She paused, take a deep breath to collect herself. “I was scared to death of losing you, Rey.”

“It’s not like I’m going anywhere,” Rey muttered, her cheeks feeling warm. “I’m better now, Cor! As long as I keep taking my medicine, I’ll keep getting better. You don’t have to baby me.”

Coriander did laugh this time, wiping her tears away. “You’re absolutely right. You’re certainly not a baby anymore. A woman grown. And only a strong wolf would have been able to pull on Julien’s bow, anyways.”

“That’s a fact, Rey. It only responds to strength and that just certifies you’re strong as an ox.”

Rey rolled her eyes and chortled. “It’s “strong as a wolf”, Julien! What are they teaching you up in the Arctic?”

“Tomato- _Tamahta_. The point is—" Julien’s speech cut off mid-sentence as both he and Coriander’s head snapped towards the forest.

Rey frowned and followed their line of sight but all she saw were trees and more trees of Nyneve. “What is it?”

Coriander’s finger came to her lip. Slowly, as if he would spook something, Julien stood, furtively moving in front of them, both he and Coriander as silent as the forest surrounding them. Rey could feel their anxiety rolling off them in waves, a sour sort of smell from the two Alphas. In response, her eyes began to dart around and in between the trees as well, trying to find what was making them so alert. But she couldn’t see or hear anything. It was absolutely silent.

Almost too silent.

It was Julien who relaxed first, followed by his mate. They still hadn’t moved, still hadn’t made a sound, and…and Coriander was still frowning.

“I know what I heard.” Beside Coriander, Julien nodded.

“I didn’t hear anything,” Rey admitted. She felt foolish saying so when her sister and her mate were obviously on edge from _something,_ but she didn’t want to lie. She wanted them to relax.

Coriander managed to tear her way from the depth of Nyneve. “Hey, Rey. Didn’t you say Finn was waiting for you? I’d rather not hear his mouth so we should get going.”

Rey shrugged; half elated that their little talk was over, and a bit torn over spending time with her sister. She was reaching for her bow when she heard a slick hissing sound slicing through the still of the Nymeve’s air, followed by a sickening thud.

Julien’s eyes went wide as he stared down at his leg. “What the—"

“Julien!” Coriander shrieked.

Rey’s eyes blinked wide open. A knife was buried in Julien’s leg, hilt deep. And Rey was frozen, with fear, with dread, watching the blood run down her brother in law’s leg.

Coriander heard another hiss, the sound of something disturbing the air around it, sailing, flying, and moved, covering Rey’s body with her own. She cried out, and Rey struggled out of her hold, frightened for her sister. _What the hell is going on?_ She blanched at what she found, an unbridled fear curling around her, squeezing tight.

There was another knife, this one sticking out of her sister’s forearm, lodged in the bone. “Cor. Cor!”

Rey reached for the knife with both hands. She could…pull it out and staunch the bleeding. What had Finn said about…yarrow…witch hazel? But she had none of that. Maybe, and then Rey was looking frantically for the yellow or white petals of yarrow or the sticky green leaves _hamamelis virginiana_. There! There! A yellow flower!

Apparently, there was no time for that. Her fingers were just wrapping around the yellow petals when Rey felt her body being lifted.

Injury and all, Julien had hefted her up into his arms and was speeding through the Nyneve, weaving in and around trees, his cool grey eyes shifting pink. Coriander was in sync with him, the three of them transferred faster and faster back towards the edge of Nymeve and towards Takodana proper. Suddenly, Julien dodged right and they were behind the safety of the wide trunk of a tree.

Coriander’s feet skid to a stop in front of her mate. She reached up and grabbed Rey from Julien so she could set her down.

“Did you see them?” she asked Julien as she searched Rey for injuries.

“Barely,” Julien said, chancing a look around the bulk of the tree. “Saw ‘em dodging through the trees like a bunch of karking kowakian monkey-lizards. I got a good glimpse of the heads. First Order.”

Coriander cursed.

“I agree,” Julien said.

Coriander chewed on her lip for a second, obviously deep in contemplation, before Julien stopped her, a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. She is,” and he laughed, “what did you say earlier, Rey? Strong as a wolf? She’ll be fine.”

She nodded before crouching on one knee in front of Rey, pushing back the hair that had fallen out of her three buns so she could kiss her on the forehead. “Me and Julien are going to take care of this little problem. Do you know how to get back to Takodana from here?”

“Yes, but…” Rey grabbed her sister’s hand with a desperation that turned her knuckles white. “I can fight, Cor. I swear I can! Let me!”

“I know you can, baby. I know.” Another peck on the forehead. “But me and the old man here haven’t had a chance to prove our worth around here in a long time! Especially with you outshining him all the time.” Julien grinned down at her. “What I need for you to do is run home and tell Father what happened. We may need reinforcements and I can only trust you to get them for us. Can you do that, First?”

“You want…you want me to be your First? But Julien?—" That’s right. They led Takodana together. Coriander had no true first. Yes. She could do this. She _would_ do this. She may be shaking and trying hard as hell to keep her bottom lip from trembling like some weak, little puppy, but she nodded. Because her sister needed her, and she would protect her in any way she could.

Coriander gave her one last smile before yanking the knife out of her forearm, the smile melting into a pained yelp. She wiped the blood from it and handed it over to Rey. “Take this, just in case. Shhh. Shhh, love, I’m sure you won’t need it. Just remember all the places I taught you to strike, okay.” Coriander pointed to her chest, her neck, then right below her collarbone. “But only if they get too close. If not, you run and you don’t stop, you hear me?”

Rey nodded again.

“Count to ten and then go.”

Rey opened her mouth to speak but her sister and mate were gone before she could part her lips.

Coriander hated fighting. She was damn good at it, but it was because it was a necessity, something her position in the pack called for. There had been the year when Tusken Raiders had traveled all the way to Takodana from Maker—knows—what—desert and she had to rally the Black Squadron to protect the village. She remembered how the ones who survived their onslaught had fled, and Coriander made sure that they were able to leave in one place. She protected—she was not a butcher. 

To some, her walking away from ten dead shifters was a contradictory statement. But to those who dared questioned her—these shifters had endangered those she held dear. And for that, she offered no quarter, no mercy.

Julien mumbled something in her ear, and she hiked him further up her back. He was easier to carry in her Lycan form, his body feeling as light as a feather. When he woke up, she would tell him that he fought very well for a man with a hole in his leg. He’d want his praises now—cockamamie wolf—but currently he was passed out from blood loss.

By the time she’d limped into the village, past her home, and straight to her father’s, she was utterly exhausted, a seven mile stretch from the depths of Nyneve to Takodana. It was still early, the sun hovering just above the spires of some of the taller buildings so it made sense that townspeople were out and about, staring, wondering, worrying. Coriander, at first, tried smiling at them through the fatigue, a consoling gesture, but no, she couldn’t. She didn’t have the energy for politics. 

Brenton must have heard the commotion from his neighbors because he met them at his front door, quickly ushering Coriander inside and leading her to her old room. She collapsed backwards as Julien hit the mattress of her old bed, breathing deep, her heart racing with the effort to get there.

“Is Julien okay? Are you hurt?” Brenton asked hurriedly as he reached for a pitcher of water and a basin. He handed her a linen shift with shaking hands before walking over to Julien to get a better look at his injuries. “This looks nasty, Cori.”

Coriander shifted back to her human form, threw the shift on and took a seat on the bed, prodding at the abraded edges of the wound. “He’s fine. We’re both…fine. I’ll run to Maz’s in a minute and she what she says. But stars, if his parents find out about this…”

“We’ll worry about that tomorrow. What happened?”

Coriander stared at Julien’s ripped clothing from his Lycan transformation. “First Order attacked us in the forest. Couldn’t tell if it was a main junta or a renegade cell. Wait. Rey didn’t tell you?” She dipped the towel into the water, wrung it out, and began to clean her mate’s wound. “Where is she? She was supposed to come straight here.”

Brenton frowned. “I haven’t seen Rey since she left with you. She’s not…” He went taut and unadulterated panic began to register on his face.

It only took Coriander a second to comprehend. She dropped the pitcher, glass shattering against the floor, and darted from the room, her father on her heels. “Rey?” she called out, frantically looking under tables and behind doors like Rey wasn’t grown already and could still fit in her favorite hiding places. “Rey? Where are you?!”

They rounded into the living room and began to run down the hallway, flinging and kicking back room and closet doors along the way.

“Answer me!” Coriander screamed.

“When was the last time you saw her?” Brenton asked, frenetic.

“I told her to run straight here!”

She was searching the kitchen, anxiety making her breath short and her vision blurry, when the front door opened with a slow creak. A loud commotion made its way into Brenton’s home, gasp and cries from Takodanians outside.

Coriander backtracked until she was in the foyer, and found her baby sister standing in the doorway, covered from head to toe in blood, bright red, like it’d come from a large vein. The knife she was clutching for dear life slipped out of her hand and clattered to the floor. Both Coriander and Brenton stood there, frozen, watching her as she stared back, owlish and blinking rapidly.

“I—I killed him.” Rey finally said as she looked down at her hands, slick with blood. “He attacked me and—and I killed him.”

Her father reacted first, pulling Rey further into the house and slamming the door behind him. Coriander threw down the wood plank and turned the key, locking the door. By the time she was done, her father had Rey sitting on a stool and was checking her over for injuries. “Are you hurt?” he tried, voice breaking.

Rey shook her head. “This is not my blood, Father.”

Coriander carried the knife Rey had dropped—the one she’d pushed into Rey’s hands—and laid it down on the table. The knife was familiar—trailing point white steel blade, leather wrapped hilt with a dark red kyber crystal right below the guard, harvested illegally from Ilum. Brenton looked at it, disgusted, before turning back to his daughter.

“Rey. What happened? You can tell me. I won’t be upset.”

The way she looked up was mechanical, like gears turning on a levee. “He followed me, like he knew exactly where I would run. I tried to lose him, so many times I tried, but every time I turned around, he was there. He was always _right_ there. I tripped and he was hovering over me, yelling at me. Yelling and yelling and I just wanted him to stop! He kicked me, told me to shut up and I tried, I tried so hard but I couldn’t.” Rey’s eyes fluttered over to her and suddenly her faced crumbled. “I remembered everything you said, Cor, but I was so scared. I was _so_ scared, and I didn’t stop stabbing until he stopped moving. I didn’t want to hurt him, but he wouldn’t stop!”

Coriander rushed over to her little sister and held her in her arms, cooing softly. “You didn’t do anything wrong, love. Nothing at all.”

“He said,” Rey continued as Coriander rocked her back and forth, “he was here to perform an _emundet._ Because I was Reyn’s abomination—that they had to kill me to cleanse the pack. What did he mean?” Rey was sniffling into Coriander’s shoulder and she felt her heart shatter into pieces. “Did that mean they wanted to kill _me_? What did I ever do to them?”

Coriander looked at her father over Rey’s head. He was glaring at the knife.

An _emundet_. A cleanse.

_The ruling line must be clean._

_The ruling line must be pure._

_The ruling line must be untarnished._

Coriander was seething with fury. _How did Uncle find out? Damn this clan and their preposterous rules! Wasn’t she pure enough for all of them? Hadn’t she mated with the purest Alpha of all wolves? Wasn’t her father and her mother untarnished? Weren’t they enough?_

“I’m going to end this,” Brenton declared. “End this before they do something, I will not be able to forgive. Clan or not.”

Coriander looked down at her sister, who had fallen asleep in her exhaustion.

“We will show them no mercy.”

_Present day…_

“How are you doing, buddy?”

Poe’s voice was _loud,_ his voice punching through the haze of tumultuous sleep Ben had been lost to. Ben winced, feeling like someone had taken the blunt end of a tabar axe to his head. Groaning, he reluctantly parted open an eye and when it felt like his head wasn’t going to detach from his neck and roll away, he tried the other.[AW1] His body felt leaden, as if ropes made of heavy steel were attached to his limbs, weights that required all of his strength to pull at.

A row of candles flickered in the darkness of the tent, the waxy lengths of tallow and beeswax sitting in the cast iron belly of the unused fire pit. From what little light the dancing flames provided, Ben could see a long crack zigzagging its way up the white birch column, but despite the deep splintering, it held steady and kept the tent from falling down over their heads. The tent allowed in sallow streams of moonlight through the long, gouging slashes in the hide, ripped apart like the demon bear hide had come back to life to exact revenge.

The rest of the room looked…fine. Neat, if not rearranged. His bed was now on the opposite side of the tent from where it used to be, now sitting opposite of Rey’s. Which empty. Her absence spoke of the aura in the room, an undercurrent of idle emotion, things left unsaid, leaving nothing but sick twisted sort of feeling, strained, so tight it felt as if the very air was being stretched thin. 

“What happened?” He inhaled deeply through his nose and tried to offset the fingers of panic he felt ghosting under his skin when he didn’t smell his companion. “Where is Rey?”

Poe leaned an elbow across his leg. He was wearing ordinary clothes, shirt and pants, and nothing of the lavish ceremonial garb he would be in for the next few weeks. It was a clue that something had shifted. “In my tent with Finn,” he stated, simply, as if it were something Ben should just accept.

“Over my dead body, she is,” Ben growled. There it was—that anger—so foreign to him, yet so easy to slip into, its waiting arms like familiar bedfellows, lost lovers, reunited over a just cause. He did not like it—he was not a slave to his own designation nor the primordial urges that dwelled in his chest. Nonetheless, it wouldn’t do for Rey to be so far away from him, not mere hours after he’d imprinted on her, no matter how composed he was pretending to be. He struggled to sit up and the wave of dizziness that hit him soured his stomach, and he pitched to the side to wretch. Nothing came up and Poe’s forearms across his chest forced him to lie back down.

“You lost control, Ben, so trust me when I say you didn’t leave Rey much of a choice.”

Ben brought his arm up and covered his eyes, trying to stay very still with hopes the looping vertigo would go away and the world would stand still once again. “I don’t remember anything, just a stupid dream I had about Snoke.”

The other man shuddered. “I’d call that a nightmare.” Poe twisted and grabbed a small earthenware clay bowl, shining a mossy green and cerulean blue—Alderaanian colors—from the table beside Ben’s bed. “Jaina said you had to drink this. Said it tasted like shit, but she’d know if you didn’t finish the entire thing.”

Ben tried again, pushing himself up from under the warm comfort of the fur trappings, slowly this time, easing back into the pillow. The dizziness still warped around in his head, pushing against the back of his eyes, but at least he didn’t think he was going to die this time. Maybe, it was too soon to assume. Poe seemed eager to get the bowl and its contents away from him, so he happily placed it in Ben’s hands, waving the air away from him. Ben promptly brought it to his nose, full masochism on display, and gagged. It smelt _worse_ than _banthashit_ , and revulsion welled up in the pit of his stomach, almost promising the next time his stomach revolted, it would produce something. “Did she say what for?”

“It’s a sedative—"

Ben happily moved to put the bowl to the side table. “Oh, good. I’m groggy as hell without it so excuse me if I don’t—"

“—for Kylo.”

Ben paused, bowl hovering in the air. “Come again?”

Poe straightened and shot Ben a look of pure exasperation. “What exactly did you think I meant when I said you lost control? Of your bladder? No, you lost control and Kylo paid a visit. And he wasn’t nice about it. He trashed the place and played a nice game of death tag with Rey. Hence the new sleeping arrangements for the night.”

Ben didn’t hesitate this time. Smell, be damned. He turned the bowl up against his lips and drowned Jaina’s concoction. This was a new concoction and the taste was horrid. He was successful in not throwing up the contents of his stomach when it was all said and done but the rancid taste coating his tongue would not leaving no matter how many times he swallowed.

Good boy!” Poe exclaimed as he patted his friend’s head, offering him a drink of water. “Didn’t even have to pinch his nose!”

“Eat a dick,” Ben muttered as the threw the bowl away from him.

“I had plans to do that before you went psycho-wolf on us, so I’ll let that be permission to get to that sometime tonight.”

“That’s what friends are for.”

“We have been friends for a long time, haven’t we?” Poe’s lips turned up in a smirk and when Ben began to balk, he shot him yet another look that said to shut up. “You know why I liked you so much at first? Because we had such similar pasts. Our clans are nuts, our mothers—stars—the most headstrong women I’ve ever met, and we do love to fight. And look at us, both Alphas, conquering our goals to leadership in the same way.”

“I don’t consider having _dominicide_ on your recorda bonding ritual, Poe. I didn’t _kill_ my father to become Alpha.”

“Yet, Alpha you are,” Poe replied quietly. “I often wondered what it would be like if it had been different, you know? Because I did kill to become Alpha.”

Ben reached out and put a hand on Poe’s shoulder. Each clan had their stupid, unbreakable traditions and Mandalore’s just happened to be _very_ violent. Ascension there depended on the former Alpha—their Mand'alor—dying in combat. Poe had handled it badly, in the aftermath, because his relationship with Bo-Katan had been just as close as his relationship with Shara Bey. “Poe, please. Don’t do this to yourself.”

“It’s alright. I’m just thinking.”

Ben’s brow rose. “You’ve been drinking.”

Poe sighed, a melodic note capping the end of it. “You know how Phasma is. If you don’t drink with her at the end of every meeting, she will instigate a friendly game of throw you across the room.” Poe was quiet for a long moment, and together they listened to the sounds outside of the tent, the preparations, the camaraderie over open fires, the winding down of a very long day. Suddenly Poe smiled, his whole face brightening as the melancholy of his thoughts subsided. “I’m going to claim Finn.”

Ben resisted the urge to laugh even though they both sorely needed it. “You say that like it’s a surprise.” Still, he reached over and punched Poe ‘s shoulder. “Congratulations, you old mutt. About damn time.”

Poe managed to look bashful and shy and that alone let Ben know how serious Poe was this time. He’d talked himself up good in the past, declaring he was going to do it the old way, march in to Maz’s little castle and declare in front of her and Chewie that Finn would be joining _his_ family. Though, he’d balk when he’d see Chewie, back from one of his many adventures with Han, like maybe his idea of a puffed chest and marital demands may not sit well with the Wookie. At least now, Ben could say that blasted Blood Moon had produced one good thing.

“I wonder what it’s like being intended to someone who actually wants to be mated with you. Because, looking at you two, I—” He paused to clear his throat. “I’m happy for you.”

“Don’t sound so…dejected, man! You’ve found someone who is going to keep you on your toes. That’s gotta count for,” and Poe made an odd, flailing circle with his hands, “something! It’ll be interesting.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “So interesting that a wolf that’s hanging out just fine decided to make a grand entrance on the first day we share as intended? I don’t think _interesting_ is the correct word.”

Poe leaned back, his eyes narrowed, head cocked back. From knowing Poe for so long, Ben knew he was about to say something that Ben didn’t want to hear. “So, it was Rey?”

Well. He wasn’t expecting that. A deep line formed between Ben’s brows.

“The twins,” he said, like it explained anything. “Well, Jaina, actually. She got in Rey’s face, accusing her of being the reason that Kylo showed himself.”

Ben frowned. His baby sister was—she was a lot. And he knew it was a product of territorial over-protectiveness. And he wished that she hadn’t had the type of childhood that made her react to threats in a way that was dangerous…to her. “She has to learn to control herself! Damn it! Rey outranks her! She’s—she’s…”

“I don’t know if you bumped your head or not during the whole wolf switcheroo, but that vocab has never existed in her head. And you’re deflecting. How long?”

Ben scowled but Poe gave him a pointed stare that he couldn’t ignore.

“It’s…not that. I’m—she intrigues me, she always has, an enigma. You know it, everyone knows it. Before it was just—” Ben paused, realizing he was rambling. How do you explain something that existed, but had been ignored for so long it might as well not have been? “I can’t explain why my wolf has decided that despite years and years of lukewarm interactions that he now wants to go wolfshit about it.”

“Sounds like a crush, my man.”

“Don’t be childish. It’s _not_ that.” Ben wouldn’t admit to anything else, how his body was drawn to hers in a way that confused him. It was the same urges he would have around a decent smelling Omega, ripe with her heat, only quadrupled. Rey was an _Alpha_ —it did _not_ make sense. “Did you see her at the gathering? Three times she tried to get to the Oracles.”

“Yeah, what was that about? Finn snorted every time she did it. Said something about her being stubborn and stupid.”

Ben didn’t know, not really, other than the fact she was adamant that they did not belong together. “Nothing. Help me up.” Ben ignored Poe’s sputtering with a wave of his hand. “I’ll be alright. I have something I need to say to her. Tonight. It can’t wait.”

“Whatever you say, your Supremeness, but if Jaina sees me helping you, _you_ handle her.”

Ben kept silent as his friend worked to lift him out of the bed to his feet. He tested his balance for a moment and tittered on his feet. Poe’s hands quickly wrapped around his middle and guided Ben’s other arm over his shoulder.

They passed Valin and Krystal on their way out, who moved to offer help, but Ben held a hand up. “At ease.” Together they made their way across the clearing until they were standing in front of Poe’s tent.

A tall Beta wolf was standing guard in front of the tent opening. Her midriff was bare, and her shoulders and chest were covered under a thick vest with a _triskelion_ brandedinto the leather. Her arms had wide, thick, sweeping tattoos that ran from her wrist all the way up to her neck, mirroring the Hays Minor clan tattoo on her sister’s neck. Covering her hands were a pair of spikes knuckled gloves. For a Takodana First, she looked _absolutely_ menacing.

It was the wide smile across her face that negated at least, some part of that terror.

She tilted her head in recognition as the two of them approached, offering Poe a slight nod, and to Ben, the full salute as Alpha of Core—a fist across her chest.

“I don’t think I’ve ever introduced you to Paige, my First’s sister.”

She gave Poe a wry grin then pivoted to address Ben. “Are you here to see Rey, my leader?” Her voice was colored with apprehension, and her eyes flicked from Ben’s to the tent, and then back to Poe. Ben could understand. The last anyone heard; Ben was out of control and had attacked his mate.

_Perfect. Just fucking perfect._

“It’s alright, Tico. I’ll wait out here with you while Ben is inside.” Poe clapped the Beta on the shoulder. “He can’t take both of us.”

Paige laughed nervously. “Uh, yeah, he can.”

Poe’s smile dropped. “Yeah, but you don’t admit that out loud, now do you. It’ll be fine.”

Paige once again eyed Ben, taking another long moment, before nodding. She then turned to the Supreme Alpha, lowering her head, her fist returning across her heart. “I hope you don’t take this as a show of disrespect. I respect you, greatly, _ardently_ , it just that Rey is my Alpha and…”

Ben tried to offer her the same blinding, conciliatory smile that Poe had. Of course, he understood. You don’t drop alliances, the need to protect, friendship, just because of a sudden shift in hierarchy. “I’d be more upset if you weren’t trying to protect her. Your efforts and discretion are appreciated. And I promise no further harm will come to her by my hands or any others.”

Paige nodded as if she appreciated his moving declaration for the safety of her Alpha, moving to the side so he could enter. “She’s in there alone. “

The hour marked it as being one full day since the Blood Moon Festival proclaimed Rey and he as ruling Alphas of Core. One full day since Rey and Ben were declared mates. Only one day and so much had happened. And as outraged as he’d been with her and her infuriating, tradition shattering actions, he knew he was _much_ better than Kylo. That was the reason he was in control.

He did not want his courtship of Rey to be highlighted by his failures this early in the game. _You’ll have plenty of time to disappoint her in the coming years, I’m sure_ , he thought, his tone ringing with self-depreciation. Now, he had to reclaim all the ground he’d lost because he failed to understand the foundation of his own attraction.

Maybe he was being swept away by the grandeur of it all. Maybe it was that he was both excited for and disappointed by. Fairy tales—this was supposed to be a fairy tale. 

_You can do this._

Ben set his shoulders and huffed out a breath before walking through the flaps and into the tent. As he did so, he expected a lot of things—yelling, screaming, things being thrown at his head, a command for Paige to drag him out of there. Things he deserved in light of.

He was greeted with absolute silence. Which felt infinitely worse.

The air inside was warmed by a functioning fire pit and suffused with lavender and vanilla, a scent that did nothing, _nothing_ , to hide how Rey’s distinctive, inimitable scent filled his nose. How could something that didn’t smell like _anything_ smell like everything to him?

Speaking of, he found her, curled atop Poe’s bed like a puppy, knees tucked to her chest, her small body trying to take up as little space as possible as she slept.

Suddenly Ben was overwhelmed by how he looked, how she would see him if she woke up. He did a once over, checking his breath— _stars_ , it still smelled like that concoction—and ran his hands through his hair, combing through the plaits Rey had created so that all of his hair was free and down around his shoulders. Hopefully, he looked less sane? Slightly less murderous?

He approached her, pulling the fur covers folded neatly at the foot of the bed up and over her body. She hummed contentedly, snuggling into them, but her nose twitched as she inhaled, and frowning, shoved the furs from around her face. Guess she wasn’t a fan of Poe’s scent.

Ben took a seat, put his hands in his lap and leaned a little closer, his face hovering over hers. He pushed away the thoughts that he shouldn’t be this close to her, wasn’t allowed, wasn’t wanted. He didn’t want her to wake and find that he was yet again invading her space, exhibiting everything truly abhorrent about Alpha tendencies. The entitlement, the fetid declaration of ownership. He leaned back, far enough to be respectful, but close enough to still be close to her.

It was amazing to him. He had truly imprinted on her, and through her maddening maudlin scent, he could sense some of her lingering emotions wafting about as if they were scents. He felt her fear—cardamom, the lingering exhaustion of tossing and turning—a cloying mixture of peppermint and citrus—and her tears, which just smelled like her—the most salient of them all. It wasn’t like Rey smelt like these things, just how nature around her reacted, pheromones created in response to someone who looked to have been caught in a nightmare.

Naturally, he blamed himself.

“I wasn’t going to hurt you, you know. I could never hurt you,” he whispered angrily, not sure who he was directing his irritation at. “I was upset, all of it was too much, the ceremony, my life changing in an instant, the fucking parade. Then you. You’d be mad if I denied you and told you I didn’t feel anything—” Ben paused, scowling. “You wouldn’t, would you? Because you’re rational and fair. You wouldn’t hold it against me because you don’t feel…”

Ben stared up at the ceiling of the tent and exhaled slowly. “I didn’t drag you into this. Yet, it doesn’t change the fact that you don’t want to be here. I wish I could grant your wish. Let you go. It would ruin us both, Rey. Kill us both,” Ben whispered.

Irrationally, he reached out and pushed some of the hair that had escaped her buns behind her ear. It exposed the gland on her neck, and he caught a hint of the mating one on her back, under the jutting bone of her spine. In the back of his mind, he heard Kylo inhale sharply, matching his sudden racing, maddening impulse to lick it.

Stars, he was the worst.

If she knew his thoughts, she’d wake up and run. Instead, she turned into his warmth, snuggling into the cradle of his cupped palm. She hummed after she inhaled, an almost content sound. Or Ben was seeing things and she’d simply turned in her sleep. “Is the thought of being at my side simply that unbearable?”

With nothing left to do, with no words left to say, he began to slowly piece together what his mind was reasoning versus what his instincts were screaming at him to do. _Time, Ben. Give her time._

“I’ll tell you all of this again in the morning. I just…I just came to tell you that. I’ve seen someone force the sort of situation onto someone else, and I wouldn’t willingly do that to you. I need you to…”

Ben stood abruptly; his chest tight with an unnamed emotion as he hobbled out of the tent. He felt like a fool, blabbering away at the mouth like that to a woman who couldn’t—didn’t want to—hear him. Bringing up memories that he wanted to bury.

He wanted to sleep until they went away.

**Core Clan Village: Takodana**

Years ago…

“Ben, hurry!”

He did as his mother requested, grabbing as many of her items as he could and throwing them into a large hemp bag before hauling it over his shoulder. He reached through the darkness, grabbed her hand and began pulling her towards the back entrance of their house.

There were loud bangs at the front door, a barrage of deep thuds as a battering ram collided again and again with their barricaded door. Shouts from men who would undoubtedly be bearing the glyphs from the Four Sages of Dwartii—Snoke’s personal army created a cacophony of noises, meant to frighten them into surrendering. Torch light cast inside through the metal bars of their windows, brilliant streaks of red and orange coating the room in a conflagration of ghastly light. The deep, daunting bellow of a _Gjallarhorn_ rang out over the village, a sign that more of the soldiers were on their way.

Alderaan was vast, if not the largest village save for Coruscant. But with a village that large, getting lost amongst its walls and alleyways and side streets and hidden crevices was all too easy. It required a keen sense of belonging, something that Ben had practiced and honed as he dreamed of escape.

And it was coming in handy. Except this escape was not for him.

They ducked in between a cart and the western wall of a building—the butcher’s shop it seemed, the smell of salted meat and blood floating stagnant above them. It was owned by Aurra Sing, and by the Maker, did she owe them. But Ben didn’t have time to hide, he didn’t have time to delay the inevitability of capture that awaited them. If fate meant to hinder their escape, he would be defying it today.

The Isatabith rain forest was located along the northern border of Alderaan. Most knew to find it by following the evocative scent of spice and fire that would lead most to the ring of the chinar trees proceeding the deep, alluring green of the forest. Ben followed his nose, trusting his knowledge of Alderaan’s back alleys and the many nights he’d escaped to Isatabith to spend more time with Poe or Hyo Ren or at times, Han.

As they ran, he looked back at his mother—agile, fast, ethereal—keeping up with him, stride after lengthy stride, and he admired her strength. Not the physical strength she possessed—which sent many Alphas running—or the intellectual—which was unmatched in Alderaan—or magical forte she was known for—she was so damned powerful—but the fact that she was, as a whole, tougher than all of them.

He ventured into an alley way but backtracked when he saw the shadows of an impending hunting party cast against the shop walls across from them. Tugging, he sprinted in the opposite way. “This way, Mother!”

__

_A Path To The Sky_ was a saying in their clan. An ode to tradition. Tradition kept them fluid, gave them a sense of direction, a standing, a solid foundation. Traditions were good and were important to a village Alderaan. However, sometimes traditions were the steel bars to the door of your prison. Sometimes tradition was a weed wrapped around your foot as you tried to kick to the surface for air. Sometimes traditions were the flames that licked at your skin and singed your hair.

Sometimes traditions were Snoke.

Yet, Leia was strong enough to see past the traditions she was forced into. An arranged marriage of the cruelest kind. To see that if she wanted to live, if she wanted her family to be safe from Snoke’s callous subjugation, that she needed to run. Ben was smart enough to know that if he ever wanted to see his mother alive again, he had to help her.

Blood seeped between their hands, making his hold on hers slippery. A knife wound was the cause of it, her palm still hot from the jagged slash where she’d sliced, supplying her spell the living sacrifice it needed. Ben wanted to stop and take care of it, but the look in his mother’s eyes told him to keep running.

They couldn’t stop. Not when Leia would be put to death for her crime.

_Breaking a bond. She broke her bond with Snoke._

_Red Dathomirian magic._

They galloped across the open fields just beyond the edges of the village, blue starflowers crushed under foot as Isatabith loomed ahead. _They were almost there._

Suddenly Leia ground to a halt, pivoted, using the momentum to throw her son behind her. Ben hit the ground, just shy of Isatabith, rolling across the dirt and rocks and starflower petals. He picked up the scent a moment later, his lips curling behind his teeth as he crouched. Leia heard his snarls and sent him a pleading look, but it was no use. Ben would protect his mother. He would or he would die trying.

She, of course, knew this and Ben shouldn’t have been shocked by what she did next, but his mother always found news way to surprise him. Leia reached into a small bag swinging around her wrist and pulled out a glowing red ampoule, lifted it into the air, and smashed it against the ground. The vial shattered and red vapors snaked from the broken glass, creating a thick mist that solidified into a crimson cage, trapping him.

He tried going through it, tried beating at its walls, tried toppling it over but it was of no use. His mother’s spell was powerful, and the walls of his new confinement were hard as stone.

He had little knowledge of _Dathomirian_ magic. His strength was through battle magic, through connecting with a force that drew its power from everything around it. There were no spells for Ben to cast, no chants for him to say. He was powerful, and yet, so powerless against a magic that he had no connection to.

Giving up, Ben tried something else his former mentor had tried to instill in him, that Ren had tried to guide him through, that Han tried to impart into their lives, and Snoke, tried to beat into him. Patience. He was still. He listened. The red mist settled and soon he was able to see and hear through the red mist.

Moments later Snoke appeared, weak and limp on his horse. Two women bracketed him, standing tall on their own destriers, the glyphs of the Four Sages of Dwartii branded on their horses’ saddles. Ben began to scream, pounding on the wall between him and his mother again. He knew it was no use. Although he could hear and see, no one could hear or see him, or the scarlet cage around him.

“You surreptitious witch. Reestablish the bond. Now!”

Leia scoffed. She stood between Snoke and Ben, her back to Isatabith and its chinar trees. “What? Afraid you’ll die without it? You won’t, I’m not that foolish. Death would be too easy for you.”

“This isn’t about—" Snoke paused to inhale a galloping breath and pulled a forearm across his sweaty brow. “You _belong_ to me. How dare you break our bond! A bond sanctioned by both our clans! You mean to wage war!”

“Sanctioned by both clans,” Leia scoffed. “Han would not let something as ineffectual as a broken bond bring war to this land. And I did what I had to do for my children, and I will continue to do what I have to do.”

“By running away. Your children need a mother!”

“Do not speak of them as if you are their father! Go back to pretending you do not care.”

“They are mine just as you are!”

“Yours to _use_ ,” she spat. “And someday I shall make you pay for it.”

The two women behind Snoke dismounted their horses and began to approach Leia on both sides. “I don’t want to do this Leia but you’re leaving me no choice! I can call them off, I can call off my entire army ripping through the village to find you. Reestablish the bond and come home!”

“Why?”

“What? What do you mean why? Because we are mated!”

Leia offered a small smile. “I _did_ belong to you once, Snoke. You stole me away so that you could have your _Dathomirian mage_ and hoard the power that would aid you in becoming Alpha. And look where that got you. Mateless and powerless.” She turned from him and his guards. “Goodbye, Snoke,” she threw over her shoulder.

“Leia!”

Ben blinked and suddenly his mother was at his side.

Snoke, in an attempt to give chase, had fallen off his horse and was now crawling—slow and painful and pitiful—to where Leia had disappeared. “Leia! Leia! Get back here, you bitch!”

Ben watched his mother reach out to the red mist wall, her nails raking against the outline of Snoke’s feature before her hand dropped to her side. “We’ve got an hour before this spell dissipates. They will be able to track our scents up until this point, but I don’t want to take any chances. Let’s go, son.”

Leia turned to continue running, but Ben stopped her. “Are you alright?”

Ben looked back to where Snoke was struggling with his anger, his rage draining the energy from his body until he went limp. The two women raced to pick him up.

“He’ll heal. He’ll find another mate.” Leia sighed. “He didn’t use to be this way. It was the only thing that prevented me from slitting his throat while he slept. For a time, he was kind.”

Ben felt his entire face clench in anger. “He beat you within an inch of your life more times than I can count, Mother, and the elders of this clan let it happen. Threatened your life! Do not defend him.”

Leia reached out and ruffled her son’s hair. “I’m not, dear. I’m just thinking.” She looked back one more time. “There is no defending that monster.”

There was a whistle from the forest line and both mother and son looked towards it.

Han and one of his First, Kanina Nico.

Ben often wondered, as this whole plan was hastily hatched, why Han, who had every right to turn his back on Leia, who had mated with another after they’d laid together and conceived Ben, was helping. But Han loved Leia, enough to be with her again, and again, thus bringing Jacen and Jaina into the world. What kept Han from killing Snoke and reclaiming his family was unknown to Ben. What gave Han the strength to continue with their lie for so many years was also unknown to Ben.

More important, what kept Snoke from killing Han, knowing what he and his mate had done behind his back? How did he override the sickening jealousy and rage that the affair _should_ have produced in him? He couldn’t have loved Leia that much.

It didn’t matter anymore, anyways.

Nico motioned towards the Isatabith and Ben and Leia hurried to the forest line. The raven haired First approached them and untied a bundle tied across her chest. Next, she untied the cloak from around her shoulders.

“Here, put this on. Quickly. It will hide your scent. Ben, hand me that bag. She can’t take that with her.”

Leia’s head flew up at Nico’s words. “W—what do you mean I can’t take them! They are all I have to remind me of my children! My family!”

Han stepped up and placed a hand on Leia’s back. “Sweetheart. These items are soaked in your powers. All of your emotions and desires. I’ve received word that Snoke contracted Nightbrother bounty hunters in anticipation of you running.”

“How could he have known…”

“How does he know anything? They’ll be able to track your magic to you. That’s why you have to go far. Far away from Alderaan, from Core. Somewhere where they won’t be able to find you.”

“But!—"

“Leia. Trust me,” Han whispered as he pulled her close and laid his forehead against hers. “I will not see you harmed. And you’ll see them again. See me again. I promise.”

Ben looked away, embarrassed, like he was seeing something too private for his young eyes. He shouldn’t be. They _were_ his parents but…some things were meant to be sacred between two people, even if their love had been secreted away for decades.

They were that good at hiding it, too. Sure, there had been some affection in his mother’s eyes for her mate. She would look at Snoke with soft gazes at times, but it was more a confirmation of their bond than actual passion. That’s why bonds were so powerful. They made you content. Made you stupid in a fashion. Oblivious or complacent.

Yet, it was _infinitesimal_ to the love that reflected in her eyes as she looked at Han. This was what real love looked like. There was no subjugation, no plans for grandeur—there was nothing but trust and warmth. Rumors were rumors and there were many who’d known of Han and Leia and Ben before Snoke entered the picture, yet Ben had never seen it—this affection, this bond that defied what bonds should be.

Here, beyond the chinar trees of Isatabith, Ben now understood why Han obeyed the laws of Alderaan, why he never made this mistake of demanding Leia’s hand, why Han did not feed into the primal Alpha song in his blood screaming for him to snatch his love away from the hands it did not belong to. Because Han loved Leia and would do anything to protect her. Even give her up.

The Alderaan Alpha broke the quiet moment between them to drape the scent blocking hood over her small frame. Ben had traveled to Takodana to get it. An herbalist named Maz, an old friend of her father’s, had given it to him. “I’ll find you, sweetheart. I swear it on my very life.”

Leia smiled softly, her hand to Han’s face, her thumb caressing along his jaw. “I know you will.”

Leia then turned to Ben and opened her arms. Ben, without hesitation, fell into them. “Momma loves you, you know that, right?”

Ben nodded around knot in his throat.

“I know you understand why this is happening. Why…I stayed for so long, but I want to tell you I am sorry. That he may harm you to get back at me. But one day, me and your father will come up with a plan. I will not see you hurt for my actions.”

“I know, Mother.”

She held him back from her, smoothing his hair over his ears. “You’re going to grow up so big and handsome. Soon you’ll be towering over me.” Tears gathered along Leia’s bottom lashes and Ben felt his eyes stinging. “Remember my next words, Ben.”

Ben nodded again.

“The elders of this clan are wise, but _you_ are smarter. Never let them decide your life for you and if they do, make sure you still live on your terms. Because you are strong, because you are good, they will try to mold you in their image. Fight it, Ben. Hunt for the pack, and never just for yourself. Honor our traditions. Take care of the twins, protect them. One day I will be back for all of you.”

“I promise, Mother.”

Her hands were squeezing his now and he ignored the pain because these would be the last words he heard from his mother in a very long time. “Your name is Benjamin Solo. _Solo_. And you are a product of love. And what I want for you most, my child, is to fall in love. Don’t let life destroy your sense of compassion. Find a mate who makes you feel like you can do anything, even rule the world.”

Ben’s bottom was trembling. He was so close to breaking down, but she needed him to be strong. So, she wouldn’t regret. “I will, Mother.”

“Good boy.” She sniffled. “My good, good boy.”

“We have to go. Now,” Nico hissed. “The torch lights are getting closer—the soldiers are headed this way. It won’t be long until Snoke tells them where you were headed.”

Leia tied the bundle across her chest, kissed her son on the cheek. “You two run along Isatabith until you reach the starblossom field. Rub it all over your body. It will hide your scent until you are safe.” Then she turned for the woods.

“I’ll keep him safe, Leia. I’ll make sure he becomes the man he needs to be,” Han said as he dropped to a knee and bowed his head.

Leia turned back one last time, bending down to hug Han around his neck. She kissed his crown of his head, her chin wobbling as she held back a sob. “I know you will. I wouldn’t love you if I didn’t.”

Nico grabbed Leia’s hand and began dragging her deeper into the woods. Not once did Leia look back. Ben was glad for it. _Let the past die, Mother. Kill it if you have to._

“It’s for the best, Ben.” Han said from his side as they watched her disappear into the forest. “This is what we are made for. To protect the ones we love, endure their strife. Nothing else matters.”

Ben wiped the tears streaming down his face. “I know.”

_I know._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ Nymeve ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Nymeve_Lake)[Emundet](https://glosbe.com/la/en/emundet)  
> [ Bo-Katan Kryze](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Bo-Katan_Kryze)  
> [ Shara Bey ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Shara_Bey)  
> [ The Four Sages of Dwartii](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Four_Sages_of_Dwartii)  
> [ Gjallarhorn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gjallarhorn)  
> [ Aurra Sing ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Aurra_Sing)  
> [ Isatabith](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Isatabith_rain_forest)  
> [ Chinar tree ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Chinar_tree)[ A Path to The Sky ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Path_to_the_Sky)  
> [ Starflowers ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Starflower) and  
> [ Starblossoms ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Starblossom)


	6. praxis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> COHABITATION? Technicalities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, we crash landed into the GingerRose!
> 
> Here is Rey's Tablet Ceremony Dress. Basically I'm stealing all of Daenerys' clothing. [ Rey's Tablet Ceremony Dress](https://www.withchic.com/light-blue-game-of-thrones-daenerys-targaryen-dress-cosplay-costume)

“Move it…over there.”

Rose knew she was a patient person.

As a child, before they died, her parents would often tell her: _“Remember this, Paige, Rose. Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance. By being the last guy standing.”_

So yes, Rose was patient.

She _had_ to be—it was how she ascended the ranks of the Mandalorian Crusaders, edging past those who may have been stronger and more skilled, with fortitude and competence. It was easy for her to let those around her fail where she would find quiet, unassuming ways to excel. It’s how she positioned herself to catch Poe’s attention, showcasing an almost manipulative ability for initiative—eavesdropping really, making the connections, and getting the gossip that allowed her to know where to be and when to be there. Rose scrapped and fought for hers, teeth bared, knuckles bloody, and she did it unwearyingly, knowing one day it would pay off.

And it did.

So, Rose _knew_ how to be patient.

Except right now. Every damned dogged breathing technique she’d honed, every centering exercise she’d mastered, was failing her. Even reciting the Mandalorian alphabet frontwards and backwards was not doing the trick. She was simply out of it—patience.

_Oh, mighty oversoul of manda. Help me not kill him!_

Rose’s hands dropped flat against the large wooden chest she was standing in front of, careful not to accidentally pop loose any of the deep azure water crystals, emeralds, and fire red _Kujeti_ cabochons inlaid across the sturdy leather casing. Because Lando would kill her for damaging his precious gift he’d trafficked over 3 clan borders to get. That man and his unscrupulous ways!

“Rose. I said over there.”

She inhaled deeply, said another prayer to _manda_ , exhaled and adopted a smile that felt so stiff it hurt. Because she was _trying_. “And where exactly is ‘there’?” she asked.

Hux’s green eyes sparkled with undiluted mischief, even if he managed to keep his face pulled taut with imperious severity. _Arrogant prick._ He took a glance around, taking all the time in the world, eyes made a lazy arc inside of the pod.

Although the outside looked like it’d been shipped directly from some bizarre future, the inside, much like the chest, was a woodland themed wonderland. Shades of viridian and juniper, indigo and sapphire painted the walls like the trees and lakes of Takodana had been hatched right in the room. A roaring fireplace with a mantle carved out of a cranberry bohemian gemstone refracted the light pouring from the windows and skylights dotting the windows and ceiling. In front of a large set of windows that looked out into the pavilion was a cobalt blue couch in the shape of a half-moon, the halfway point between a mahogany study and the bed.

Speaking of the bed, it was as monstrous as the room, twisted spires of cedar and white birch wood that reached for the sky looming over a fur and silk covered mattress. The pelt of a white tiger was laid across the floor in front of the fireplace and the room smelled earthy and woodsy, like pine and spruce with a lingering fragrance of sage.

Lovely, immaculate, but sizable, which made decorating it a pain in the ass. Thus, Rose’s current irritation with Hux.

His gaze continued its path, stopping once to admire the chandelier made of flat, contorted, gleaming wood, until it landed on a corner a few feet from the bed. “ _There_ is there.”

Rose looked over her shoulder and her eyes narrowed to points. “You’ve got to be _kidding_ me,” Rose exclaimed, finally losing it. “I just moved it from there!”

“No,” he said with the conviction of a man who knew how to needle a person to the point of violence. “You just moved it from over _there_ ,” he said, pointing under one of the windows. “Now I need you to move it over there.”

Instead of leaning down to begin the process of pushing the heavy chest across the room yet again, Rose put her hands on her hips and put all of her ire into her glare. “I should have known. I should have known! You’ve got the decorating skills of a womp rat! How did you, of all people, become in charge of this?”

Hux had the nerve to look offended. “I’m not _that_ bad.”

Yep. Rose was gonna kill him.

“Fine! Fine. I…requested this task.”

“And,” Rose pressed.

“And! Once I got it I…I asked for you to assist me.”

“Why,” she growled, wanting him to get to the point. Because Hux always had a point and it was never the point he first insisted on.

“Because you don’t have the decorating skills of a womp rat?”

“That’s it.” Rose pivoted for the door and stomped her way across the Alpha Prime’s new living quarters. “I’m _done_. I’m sure there has to be someone else—”

“Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose!” Hux pleaded before skidding to a stop in front of her, blocking the door. “Is it so wrong that I wanted the best? Help me score some points here! Others have regular ole Betas helping them while I have…a wild swan. A unicorn.”

“Unicorn. What the hell is a unicorn?”

“You, precious. Something indescribable and beautiful.”

Rose rolled her eyes and Hux’s smile was much too knowing and assured for her liking.

Hux plucked a flower from the dozens and dozens that had been sent to the room and began playing with the petals, a different sort of gleam in his eyes. “The unicorn loves me,” he plucked a petal and let it fall to the floor. “The unicorn loves me not.” He plucked another one and Rose discovered what that gleam meant. _The cad._

Rose, not one to be disarmed so easily, cross her hands over her chest. “This is punishment, isn’t it? For last night?” When Hux’s brow went up, bemused, she stomped her foot. “Because I wouldn't stay in your tent?”

“Ah.” Hux plucked a few more petals before placing the stripped stem down across the Alpha Prime’s credenza with the rest of the flowers. “Although that was a grave mistake because I did request you stay, I wouldn’t punish you for that. And you can’t possibly think that _this,”_ he said, waving a hand towards the rest of the bedroom, _“_ is punishment?” Hux laughed, bold and loud. “This isn’t punishment, _cyare_ —"

Rose heard the dip in his voice, a prelude to something dangerous and off limits, and took a step back. “No, Armitage. Do _not_ call me that.”

Hux decidedly ignored her and despite the short number of steps he took, practically prowled towards her in all of his height and garnet tinted bluster and wonderful scent of clean, white smoke and Rose cursed inwardly. 

“What? Don’t call _cyare_ , my _cyare_?” He kept his advance towards her, closer and closer, until he was only a breath away. “What would you like me to call you, then?” his slightly nasal vibrance taking on a much, much darker tone.

“My name?” Rose asked weakly.

“A Rose by any other name would be…” Hux heaved a sigh. “Okay, _Rose_. Punishment,” the Endor Alpha whispered hotly as he crowded Rose against a wall, “by definition, is the infliction or imposition of a penalty as retribution for an offense. In Endor, punishment would require ropes. A slip of silk pressed against your lips. We’ve been known to use oil. Hot wax and soft skin.” Rose felt her back hit the wall, Hux’s chest flush up against her and nimble fingers glancing across her hips. “You begging…and me giving…”

Rose’s stomach bottomed out, a fluttering mess of butterflies and want and stars knew this was not the time or the place, but _manda_ help her, she couldn’t help herself. 

“That would be punishment.”

She wanted to say something smart in response, something that dripped with sarcasm and bite because honestly, it’s what the big overgrown puppy deserved but she couldn’t. She just couldn’t—not with desire playing kick-a-way with her legs. _We shouldn’t be doing this_ ,” her wolf said, the only rational thought in her head. _Anyone could walk in and see us and then we’d have to explain!_

Veilchenblau—or Vee—her wolf, was a precarious thing, almost timid, a juxtaposition to Rose’s fierce personality, but by _manda_ , had she kept Rose out of the thick of it!

Like…right now.

She jittery proclamation was enough for Rose to regain some of her sense. Groaning, Rose pushed at Hux’s chest and was met stubborn hot resistance. “Armie…please.”

Hux bent down, impressive considering their height differences, and trailed his lips across Rose’s jaw, her ear, nibbling on the lobe before sucking it into mouth. His mouth was insistent, ravenous, hot, like he didn’t care where he was—he was going to enjoy her right here, and right now. “That’s what I like to hear.” He mouthed Rose’s neck, pressing, lips teasing, threatening to burn her up from the inside. “Beg,” he murmured.

Rose murmured and decided right then and there that she was absolutely fine burning to ashes where she stood. “Armie…”

Suddenly the bedroom door swung open, creaking along hinges that needed to be oiled, and banged against the wall.

“Mighty Maker on high! I can’t leave _any_ of you alone, not for one minute!”

Rose pulled away from Hux so fast and so hard, panicked as she was, that her head collided with the richly carved wall molding.

_“Oh, no,”_ Vee whispered, her fret echoing in Rose’s head.

Finn stood there, in one hand an ornate wooden box covered in deep red Sein jewels, and in the other, yet another vase of flowers. Rose expected a few reactions from finding two very notable and powerful wolves pawing at each other like they were in heat but Finn looked…bored, as if what he’d caught was nothing of importance.

Hux cleared his throat, but nothing in his tone denoted any kind of panic or stress or embarrassment—which it should have! They’d been caught! “Finn, it’s not what it looks like. I’m just… _helping_ Rose decorate.”

“Yeah and I’ve got a _Kowakian’s_ cock. It looked like you were helping yourself to _her_ in the Alpha Prime’s room—which is either highly illegal or extremely unethical, I’m not that up on the laws yet. I mean I expect _you_ to be a depraved scoundrel but to pull Rose into your debauchery? Tsk, tsk.”

Rose opened her mouth to explain, to do _something_ , but Finn kept talking as if he’d simply discovered them rearranging the stones in Rey’s rock garden. “I don’t care what you do on your own time, but please, not while we have scant hours of daylight left, hm? Hux, let her loose and help me with all of these damn weeds.” Finn placed his vase on the floor and stared at it as if he were tired of its existence. He looked around the room. “Rey doesn’t even like flowers,” he muttered, shaking his head. 

Hux snorted. “I’ve never known Ben to think past his own “good ideas” but even so—the flowers are a nice touch, if not for the color, they most certainly improve the smell of _whatever_ Holdo’s maids did to “consecrate” the place. I mean sage—I get it, holy—but to this Alpha’s nose? It smells like I snorted a pile of woodchips—"

“Uh, hello!” Rose said, exasperated, slapping at Hux’s hands that were very much still…where they were, which was a bunch of inappropriate places considering their current company! Again, Hux was unruffled, and in response, pulled her closer, his fingers finding an interesting place near her lower back and oh!—

“Hux!”

“It’s okay,” Hux said, nipping Rose’s chin and boldly taking two hand full, “he knows.”

“Stars, do I know,” Finn confessed as he reclined against the door frame. He nodded towards Hux. “They get pretty drunk at their Alpha meetings thanks to Phasma and a little birdy told me that Hux has the absolute _lowest_ tolerance. His father, the piece of shit— stars rest his soul—has to be rolling in his grave.” Finn ignored Hux’s warning growl with the audacious bravado that only Finn could get away with. “When he’s drunk, his lips get loose.”

“Wait,” Rose brow pinched. “How do _you_ know?”

“Because _my_ little birdy is Poe and he is equipped with the _second_ shittiest tolerance and the _second_ loosest set of lips this side of Core.”

Finn walked to a tall curio betwixt two tall foxtail ferns and placed the heavy box down. “One of you gonna help me with the flowers or are we going to continue to discuss your adulterous affair all morning long?”

Hux huffed and finally, _finally,_ let go. “For one, I would appreciate it if you didn’t call it adulterous. I am not mated! Not yet. And two, I thought that preposterous betrothal was dissolved when I did the whole creepy Blood Moon bullshit and three—the word _affair_ sounds grotesque.” He walked over and yanked the heavy vase up with ease before none too gently placing it on the credenza with the rest. “Thanks for ruining the mood, Imperial Aide.”

Finn’s dark eyes lit up. “You’re the first one who has recognized my proper title all day!” Finn squealed in delight. “I could just kiss you right now!”

“Don’t,” Hux growled, nose scrunched up. “I’m swarming with adulterous germs, remember? Aide,” and he said it so sharply, that he was sure Finn was going to throw something at him, “is there something we can help you with or are you just here to be an ass?”

“To be an ass but the flowers were important, too.” Finn gave Hux and Rose one last eerily bright smile before whipping around, furs and vest flurrying. He opened the door, one foot out, before pausing. “Oh, and moonboy.” Finn leaned his head back inside the room again. “Easy on the goods. I’ll be needing her later.”

Rose waited until the door was closed behind the Omega shifter before she sunk into the first chair she could find, a velvet lined settee by the credenza, her head falling into her open palms. “That was a _disaster_.”

Hux bent low and took ahold of Rose’s tanned hands between his own pale ones. “Stop being so pessimistic. It’s not as bad as you think.”

“Yeah,” Rose snorted, “because downplaying our situation is going to make everything all better. Thank you, Hux.”

“Well, that’s my general plan.” When Rose frowned at him, he sighed, his hand releasing hers so he could caress her cheek. “Love, it’s going to be okay.”

“We’ve got weeks left together, Armie. Mere weeks. Then it’s all over. Nothing about this is okay.”

Again, the look of offense crossed over Hux’s features, hidden away under his attempt to look in control, when it was anything but. “So, you’ve stopped trusting me?” he asked. He brought Rose’s hands to his lips and kissed each knuckle. “I said I would fix it.”

“No,” she said softly, not able to help the hurt that colored her voice. “I don’t trust you. Not with this.” She stood there, hovering over him, sinking her hands into his soft red hair. Her Alpha—no, not _her_ Alpha—leaned into the touch before wrapping his arms around Rose’s waist, his nose pressed against her belly. “But it’s okay. I knew that. The time we have is enough. It has to be.

Rose pulled away, ignoring Hux’s low whine, his posture tense with the unsaid command demanding she stay, pretending the day away. “I was going to lose you one way or another anyways, wasn’t I?” She opened the door, squeezing between the heavy, thick wood and the door frame, leaving Hux alone with the flowers.

On the other side of the door, Finn remained, his hands behind his back as he gazed up at a large tapestry in the hall.

“I panicked,” Finn said the very moment the door thumped closed behind her, spinning around to face her. “I—when he told me he had it handled, I thought he meant breaking things off with you.”

She and Finn weren’t close, but they were close enough that she was somewhat offended by his confession, the fact that she was a secondhand witness to her own story. “I’m glad, most certainly, that my personal problems are a bonding experience for the two of you,” she almost growled.

“It’s not that—well it was that, but _I_ went to _him_. Because I know, h–how you feel. _Empathetically_.” He fingered the fringes of the tapestry, his eyes downcast. “I thought I was going to lose Poe to someone else, to someone I knew and trusted. And I accepted it, had to, without question, because that’s what we’re supposed to do. _Clan Before Body_. But it wasn’t easy, and I wasn’t happy. I imagine it’s not easy for you, either. Hux’s guardian is a bit…particular, isn’t she?”

“Besides her _particular_ distaste for Mandalore?” Rose rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Rae Sloane not having control of Core must have damaged her pretentious ego but having the Shadow Council alliance rebuilt with _Eternal Empire_ must have made her quite happy,” she finished, her voice tenuous and shaky.

Vee’s whine echoed alongside her own inner turmoil and suddenly Rose was sick of all of it—the plans, the pitying, the fucking political machinations of this clan collective.

“It doesn’t matter,” she snapped.

Finn crossed the hall, nodding at two of the guards closest by, until he was standing by Rose’s side. “As the resident gossip hoarder of Core, I’ll try to give you something that I hope brings you comfort, hm? Vaylin feels nothing but lukewarm fraternity towards Hux. Armitage is like a younger brother she likes to terrorize, nothing more.” Finn tapped Rose under her chin. “Do what you need to with that information. But I do know that you are smart, and you are resourceful enough to not give up. You turn that arrogant jackass into a giddy, goofy puppy with just a glance.”

Rose’s smile came to her unbidden, and she ducked her head to hide it, scuffing her boot across the stone floor. “Thank you, Finn.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Finn slung an arm around her shoulder. “Have you eaten?”

Rose shook her head. “Well, let’s get some food into you, then.” He began dragging her towards the kitchen. “And then you can help me with the Supreme Alpha’s room. It’s _so_ much _blue_ , my stars. Like a JayJay puked all over the place. Heard you’ve got a bit of a decorating thumb.”

**Core: Delphi Temple**

Durteel Haza glanced over the edge of a scroll at the two sitting along the long oak table in their small study. Jessika was busy with arranging lunar runes, separating those glittering with diamond speckles from the ones sparkling with gold flecks, whistling happily as she did, while Kaydel scratched a quill across her journal, tongue poking out, like she was composing the next great tome of Core. The thing was, and in any other instance he wouldn’t complain, stars no, they were awfully quiet. Durteel Haza didn’t know what to do with them when they were _this_ quiet.

“Has Tahiri returned all of the instruments from the festival?”

Kaydel grunted, and without looking up, thumbed back towards a far corner where several silver cases, which had been used to house the vials and the bowls used in the ceremony, lay.

“And has Lando attached his seal to all of the paperwork?”

Jessika hummed, picking up a ruby lunar rune, perusing it for a moment before setting it down. “He delivered them first thing this morning.”

“And has—"

“Yes,” Kaydel said before he could finish. “It’s in the Prayer Room. I’m waiting for the oil to warm up so I can begin scouring the tablets.”

“And the—"

“Delivered last night. Csilla says that they’ll analyze it—whatever that means to them—but I doubt it. Or maybe they hired some non-Chiss people who don’t hate our guts. Either way, I’m sure we’ll have the updated transcripts before the week is over.”

“Oh,” Durteel Haza muttered before turning back to his scroll. “Very well, then.” After he’d reread the first line three times over, he lowered it once again to the table. He pinched the bridge of his nose, fingers grazing over the peaks and valleys of his dark textured skin. “Kaydel. Jessika.”

He said it as an Alpha would say it, trying to mimic the commanding force behind it but he knew it didn’t work _because_ of that. It worked because it was rare that he called them by their given names. Both stopped their tasks, looking up at the Elder of Delphi. “Help me out here. I was expecting two excited puppies nipping at my ankles when I got back, and it’s been quieter today than it has been in the last _thirty_ years.”

Jessika’s eyes flicked back her box of runes, clearing her throat. “What is there to be excited about, Elder?”

Because she was looking down, she didn’t see the absolutely incredulous look that crossed his face before he was able to tamper it down. He regarded her carefully, anyways, before shifting his gaze over to Kaydel, who had all but stopped writing in her journal, although the quill hovered over the page, dripping black ink over the last few words she’d penned.

Out of the many Oracle acolytes training under him, he’d known Kaydel the longest. He’d found her as a running messenger between two smaller settlements between Kashyyyk and Dulathia, her hometown. Within seconds of talking to her, he’d discovered her capability for the metaphysical was _astronomical_. Despite her vast talents, Kaydel was quiet, sensible, and inculcated with a deep sense of duty to the clan collective.

Then there was Jessika.

Jessika, the Great Destroyer of Dandoran. That’s how he’d found her, standing atop a trash heap floating atop the Mynock Grottos, defending it with her teeth bared and her claws extended. Not because…she needed it, no, Dandoran was lush and green and the earth provided. She was just…territorial. Over any and everything. Even trash heaps. Still, she was harmless—even if most wolves would flinch if she raised a hand. Jessika also had the remarkable ability to stare you dead in the eye and lie with a smile. 

So as much as Durteel Haza loved and valued Jessika, most of the time he was just plain wary when she spoke—prophetic or not. He was glad that Kaydel was around to influence her with proper decision skills and to keep her in line.

He hoped.

“You two enciphered a prophecy that was a hundred years coming. You are a permanent part of Core’s history…indoctrinated legend even! …And you’re just…copacetic about that?”

Jessika looked up again, and this smile was _the_ smile. “Oh. We celebrated a little while you were out with Juibop. Although I’m sure our celebrations weren’t as…vigorous as yours.” Jessika flashed her eyebrows and Durteel Haza jaw clenched.

Kaydel grinned. “Never mind her, Elder. We’ve all been a little preoccupied with the crisis down the mountain, but it’s been cleared up so that explains our…subdued composure.”

Durteel Haza frowned. “What crisis?”

“The Supreme Alpha lost control of his wolf last night,” Kaydel explained as she began writing in her journal again. “Scared the _druk_ out of Rey.” Kaydel leaned over the table, eye jutting from Jessika to Durteel and back. “Gossip has it that the Alpha Prime isn’t the most…receptive to the Supremes’ advances.” Her nose wrinkled as she sat back in her chair, quill tip bouncing off her lips. “Which makes _perfect_ sense since she wasn’t—ow!” Kaydel dropped her quill and seemed to grab her leg under the table.

Jessika shot her a wickedly dangerous glare but when she turned to Durteel Haza, she was serene as a lazing lothcat. “They’ve got it under control, Elder,” she assured, loudly. Almost _too_ loudly. “They’re even holding the tablet succession feast tonight! I’m sure you remembered that.”

“Of course, I remember,” he said—he’d forgotten. “We’ve got to prepare for their conjoining as well.” He plopped the scroll on a pile of other scrolls he hadn’t had the focus to get through. Standing, he regarded his top acolytes one last time. “Make sure you two document _everything_ from the Blood Moon festival so I can deliver it to the archives after the Mating Moon.”

Both Kaydel and Jessika bowed their heads. “Yes, Elder.”

Durteel Haza smiled at them and turned for his chambers. He didn’t make it two steps before his smile withered away, a frown and a furrowed brow replacing his once genial appearance. 

Those two, were lying…

He just didn’t know what about.

**Core: The Imperial Fortress**

The Imperial Fortress did not always have a gate. In the days before the Shifter War, the Fortress belonged to no one, and welcomed any and all into the cavernous embrace of its massive structure. As with any government, that quickly became unsustainable, often becoming a location where one clan would claim ownership, angering another, who would lay siege. So, so many shifters died, yet there was no one clan leader strong enough to end the dispute over what they all considered the greatest military positioning in case of another war.

Until The First Great Shifter War.

As Core was consolidated and as the clans were united, The Imperial Fortress fell under the control of the Supreme Alpha and the Alpha Prime. It was from this ziggurat that Revan and Bastila Shan lead.

The gate—a multilayered wooden and iron wrought masterwork comprised of a portcullis and two massive wooden gates that took seven people to operate—was a remarkable and imposing structure, bisecting Processional Way, the main roadway in Coruscant. This— during the Second Shifter Wars, when clans from the south, far past Mandalore launched their attack—was the very reason why Core was the ruling clan collective on their side of the world.

No one could breech their walls. No mere shifter could destroy their gate. 

Ben had to crane his neck, the nape of his neck touching the tops of his shoulder to see it from the bottom to the very top. It made him feel small, standing so diminutive under its imposing height, but everything about Ben felt small at the moment.

Alderaan was considered the strongest village of The Five because it had been cultivated that way, appointed by Bastilla herself to breed strong leaders. The urbanity supported that, a true apropos to “Only the strong survive.” The strong were sifted from the weak and those who couldn’t keep up were sent to the borders. It was brutal and it was hard. Yet, it wasn’t without its pleasures. In Alderaan he was molded by so many for leadership. Ren and the Knights on how to fight like one, Snoke, how to be manipulative and cruel like one, and Han who eventually tempered Snoke’s callous lessons with kindness, empathy and respect—although no one could blame him for picking up his father’s smart-ass mouth.

Yet even with that sort of rounded, robust tutelage, Ben still felt it wasn’t enough. That _he_ wasn’t enough.

He, for the first time in days, was starting to feel the weight of his new title. It was crushing.

There was a crowd of shifters present, even at this early hour, clamoring to get a closer look. He felt their whispers. Their elation. Their disappointment. Their anger. Their acceptance. Their fear.

_Emotion, yet peace._

Yes. Yes. He was made for this. He would not let Core down. He would take Core to new heights. He would, with Rey’s help.

_Rey_. He could feel her approach to stand before the gates of the Imperial Fortress. Her arm brushed against his and he cautioned a glance. A mistake. Rey cleaned up well, his knowledge of that a testament to the innumerous formal events Core threw, an unspoken requirement for each Alpha as politics—kissing the asses of the wealthy—was considered just as important as defending your clan.

And he’d seen her in a dress before. Ben remembered the last one, Yaldā, a celebration of the encroaching winter solstice. She’d shown up in a lovely, but modest, powder blue ensemble, shimmering gauze and delicate lacework that resembled snowflakes. The look was made all the more charming by the fact that as her skirts fluttered around her ankles as she bodily avoided conversation with just about anyone who wasn’t from Takodana, it was clear to see she was wearing pants under the dress. Poe had leaned over and muttered—“That woman is _always_ ready to either fight or run.”

She may be wearing pants today. Ben was curious. If they’d at least liked each other, if she were amenable to conversation with him, he’d asked. But. _But_. Nonetheless, pants or no pants, Rey was an absolute vision this morning. Her hair, soft and brown and looking utterly touchable, was braided into a zigzagging looping coiffure that left him dizzy. The rest of her was veiled in a diaphanous silk and chiffon gown in a waterfall of colors, magenta and reds, flowing into iridescent dark blues, all which reminded him of the buzzing _humming peepers_ on Endor. A cape cut from the same vivid fabric tailed down her back in flowing waves, connected to her dress by two shoulder plates constructed of iron lattice work. Yet, it wasn't the dress that made Ben clench his fist.

_Who dressed her? Were they trying to kill him?_

The cut of her neckline, which plunged towards her navel like a stone sinking to the bottom of a riverbed, stoked something primal and antiquated—possessive—in him and Ben couldn’t tell if he was roused, embarrassed or ashamed. Especially since it was taking a considerable amount of willpower not to take another look.

“ _For fuck’s sake_ ,” Kylo grunted, almost as if he were disgusted by his human's behavior. _“You've seen breast before, haven't you?”_

That’s right. Ben reminded himself to _always_ listen to his wolf. Because when his wolf was bothered enough to speak up, it meant that Ben needed to do the _absolute_ _opposite_ of said advice. Which is why he didn’t look at her again. Because…because…

_Breast, Ben. They are breasts._

He wondered if he could get this entire day cancelled. Start over tomorrow. Because right now he needed to sit down and let someone dump cold water over him. A dip in the riverbed at the dead of night. _Something_. He was suddenly very glad she hadn’t imprinted on him as he had on her because his heart was _racing_.

“Who do I have to kill to get some caf around here?”

It was muttered, and Ben wasn’t sure if she’d meant if for his ears or not, but he’d heard it, and he pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. He most certainly agreed with her. For his part, he’d been awakened this morning before the kriffing sun was up, the sky a depressing, milky grey that lulled him back to sleep time and time again. Poe was strewn across Rey’s cot, mouth opened, an invitation for flies.

Ben ignored the reason why he woke up to Poe’s loud snores instead of Rey’s—well he didn’t quite know what Rey sounded like first thing in the morning, still wrapped up slumber. The sounds she made, or if she stole covers in the middle of the night, kicked about, put her cold feet on people’s backs.

Instead, he let Jaina boss him around as Poe scrambled out of the tent heading to the Fortress early. And he kept quiet, letting her dictate what he’d wear, how to braid his hair, how thick the line of khol around his eyes should be—things he did not care about but as long as he looked as formidable as he needed to be, he would acquiesce.

When he’d finally be freed from her clutches, he was decked out in his everyday Alderaanian black and grey leathers with his Alpha rank sigil pinned on his lapel—the fires of Aldera kissing and curling around the edges of a blade, all hovering over three snow capped mountains like the sword of Damocles. And even then, the sun still had not risen!

So, he very much agreed with Rey’s mutterings. He’d kill for some stimulation right now, too.

He slid her one last sharp glance, covering it by eventually looking over her into the distance, in the direction of Takodana, although in the end, his eyes darted back to her. He should have visited there more. Been more than some silent sentinel in her life. Should have tried to get to know her. They say that hindsight is clearer than all the crystal lakes on Naboo. His failings to get close to her as he’d with the other Alphas–Hux included—couldn’t be fixed now.

He needed to look forward.

Despite her obvious exhaustion and her general apathy for the whole entirety of it, Rey still held her head high as if she were prepared for _anything_ anyone would ever throw at her. It had to be _exhausting_ , never resting, never letting her guard down. The sun had risen, creating a luminous halo around her, like she was made of stars and air and light. Which, in some ways, a lot of ways, important was, was true. But the Rey he knew, heard of, was made of much sterner stuff. She reminded him of stone and sand–gritty, irritating at times, but persevering.

It was still Ben’s belief, even after such a disastrous first day, that they would make a good match. Takodana mirrored Alderaan’s ways of old centering knowledge and council above all—before Bastila and Revan commanded they change. Rey’s council and Ben’s leadership would change things.

He just had to stop _karking_ it all the hell up so he could make her understand, make her see!

Two of the Fortress’ pages who’d had traveled with them solemnly made their way from the huddled small travelling party of Alphas and Betas, up Processional Way to the gates. Each grabbed a large silver ring clutched in the snarling snout of an angry wolf and knocked three times.

Ben inhaled a deep breath and raised his head _. No turning back now._

“OPEN THE GATES! THE DYAD HAS ARRIVED.”

There were no horns, no triumphant beating of drums, and for that he was glad. The pages stepped back and two of the Betas stationed in the sentry towers shouted below, the commanded ringing across the Fortress like battle cry. Torches anchored to the parapet flared to life and dozens upon dozens of Fortress guards appeared between the crenelations, their hands fisted over their hearts. Soon, the gate was groaning open, gradual and deep, rousing those who hadn’t been paying attention to the slow parting of the wooden doors.

Scattered along Processional Way, just on the other side of the gates was Finn, dressed in Takodana’s colors, smoke blue linen pants and a pale lapis long coat. He was taking his job seriously and Ben doesn’t want to imagine what time he woke this morning to be here on time and looking as put together and handsome as he did. Ben almost rubbed his eyes, pupils stinging with fatigue, but then he remembered Jaina’s attempts to make him look like a racoon and dropped his hands to his side in defeat. 

Behind the Imperial Aide were the remaining Alphas of Core, some greeting him with an inexplicable excitement—Poe and Rose, naturally—while the rest were more subdued and somber, as the occasion called for. Hux cast a distasteful look in Poe’s direction, sniffing when the Mandalore Alpha actually _waved_. At his side was Kyp Durron and his permanently etched smug face and ostentatious high collar jacket, who looked just as dismayed with Poe as his Alpha. Phasma’s face was a mask of blankness, her eyes focused on something in the middle distance, a sure indicator that she was severely hung over. At least she was _standing_. Siv and Torben of the Scyre, both sharing the title of First of Kashyyyk, looked to be in better spirits and were the first to salute them as they approached.

“Welcome to your new home,” Finn announced proudly. He glanced at Rey first, offering his friend a secretive smile that spoke of years of friendship and whispered secrets and childhood antics. He shouldn’t be jealous of that, but he was, and he bit the inside of his cheek, feeling surly and sodden with his own emotions.

Not that Finn was being stingy with his smiles, he offered Ben one as well, pleasant, polite—not that his attitude would allow him to accept it at the moment. He was good at this, punishing others for his own shit but he didn’t care. So, instead of returning it, he kept his eyes pinned to something, anything, over Finn’s head.

There was a chuckle, most likely at his expense, before Finn was pushing on with his agenda in the swaggered-out sort of way that only Finn could embody. “The next few days will be busy, all, so I hope you all are all rested. If you aren’t, then, well, good luck not _dying_.”

Siv managed a chuckle at that, glancing up at Phasma who was still stuck somewhere between here and last night’s drinks.

“Tonight, we will hold the tablet succession ceremony with a feast to follow. So, let me show you to your new living quarters so you can begin your preparations. Your servants—"

That caught Ben’s ire. “Servants?” he said, head whipping towards Finn. “Why are there _servants_? For what? We don’t need servants!”

“—will attend to you at dusk to help prepare you for tonight.” Finn sighed, his eyes flicking heavenward. “Supreme Alpha,” he beseeched, “this is not your average household. The place is huge. And you absolutely cannot run it by yourself, unless you expect Rey to cook and clean _and_ lead.”

Ben would sputter, if he sputtered because that is not what he—he would never!—

And then Rey—Rey she _laughed_ at him, under her breath, trying to hide it behind her hand.

Finn pivoted before Ben could formulate a good decent response, so he did the only thing he could do—glower at Finn’s back. 

The Imperial Fortress, a colossus in both reputation and design, was the culmination of engineers and builders from Takodana and guidance from The Four Masters—before Mandalore was recognized to be within Core’s borders. Proceeding the Fortress like ripples in a lake were three fortified outer rings, each several thousand meters across, that while lacked the grace and beauty of the such places as the Theed Hangar in Naboo clan territory, made up for it by being eternally resistant and withstanding.

The first ring—Imperial D’Qar— held the barracks, the stables, and was the first line of defense, holding the stairways that led to the battlement. The middle layer—Imperial Crait—a soft middle, but still formidable, held the living quarters and offices of senior ranked guards and generals who served the Fortress. The innermost and the most reinforced—Imperial Ajan Kloss—held the store caches, military inventory, and storage for things necessary to operate a structure of this size. 

Their party followed Finn through each ring where thousands of guards, soldiers, and officers lined the entryway, all in the black and gold of Core, fist to hearts in salute. Leaving the rugged wooden, stone and metal domical shaped edifice of the third ring, Imperial Ajan Kloss opened to a massive cobblestone and stone courtyard, following Processional Way and leading to a set ceremonial steps hedged by statues of The Four Master, the ancient founders of each clan. 

Once inside the Fortress, Ben tried to listen intently as Finn began rattling off sectors—the Room of a Thousand Fountains, The Chamber of Conclaves, the Wall of Divine Light and The Great Tree, The Archives. He heard of some of them as he grew up and as he ascended to Alpha, but there were literally a hundred dozen different corners and crevices of the Imperial Fortress and they _all_ had names. That might have been the one thing that Bastila and Revan did wrong—the build Core with the donations and funds and taxes provided by affluent vassal Alpha and Betas, who in turn all requested to name something inside the Temple. _Kriffing ridiculous_. He wondered who would stop him if he consolidated or better yet did away with all the names.

They continued zigzagging through the ziggurat while Ben mused on his long list of changes he could make, focusing his attention in enough time to note the wide expanses of stained glass, statues, and battle flags that depicted the creation of Core decorating the Grand Corridor.

Soon, their meandering tour came to a stop at the base of another protracted set of steps. Stretching across the breadth of the Fortress was a wall, black as night with red runes glinting with an inexplicably unnatural light, as if they glowed from within. Nestled at the center of the wall was a large golden door which parted as their party climbed the stairs.

Sunlight, warm and bright, peeked through the cracks of the door, ushering in the expanse of a sprawling garden, filled with the mauves and blush petals of _murakami_ orchids, blood red _plom blooms_ , yellow and crimson of the Alderaanian flame-lilies and gaggles of dewy gigglebuds. A plank bridge floated over rushing streams of water, all fingering and interweaving through the garden before disappearing behind a multitude of independent pavilion like pods. The pods themselves were spectacular, each an enormous ball shaped structure with brown and green weblike roots covering its exterior, the earthy display only broken up by the white surface of the pod peeking through, and the golden door leading inside.

“This is Core Pavilion,” Finn explained, one hand sweeping towards the namesake. “As you can see, it is at the very center of the Imperial Fortress and nearly impenetrable from the outside.” Finn pointed to the walls—which on this side were painted with clouds and golden spires, and lastly the visage of Revan and Bastila Shan—that surrounded the Pavilion on all sides, creating a valley like atmosphere. “For the Alphas of each village and your Firsts, rooms have been prepared.”

Ben watched as everyone peeled off, some of them practically running across the bridge to the pods. Poe was the first across and was pointing to the door with his clan’s crest on it. The door swung open, and he and Rose disappeared inside, where it was quiet for a moment. But only for a moment. Then Poe was back on his Pod’s deck, practically screaming. 

“Blessed _jate'kara_ , these are—these are…” He paused, hand on the back of his head as if he were overwhelmed. “It’s like another world!”

“Poe,” Ben pleaded. “I was under the impression you helped in the preparations. Where is the surprise coming from?”

“Four words, friend. Del-uh-gay-shun! I delegate things—namely Rose. People were throwing themselves to volunteer, even Hux! And even if I had, I’ve actually never seen the inside of these, Be—I mean Supreme Alpha.”

“That is not my name,” Ben barked, which Poe laughed at. “And please act like you’ve seen splendor before.”

“Oh, you haven’t seen splendor yet,” Finn said, pulling both Ben and Rey, who had been silent as a tintolive tree, across the bridge and to the middlemost pod, thrice the size of the others. The double doors parted, aided by unseen hands. And Ben’s mouth dropped open.

“This is _ours_?” she said, breathless.

“All yours.” Finn smiled. “I present to you,” and he swept a hand towards the inside, “the Dyad Suite.”

The suite was _magnificent_ , and this was coming from someone whose clan’s Alpha quarters were so large, you could see it approaching their borders, and the inside so richly decorated that they needed guards to safeguard all of the crap Han had smuggled into Alderaan.

They followed a short hallway to which on the main wall were colossal portraits of he and Rey—one he could not remember _ever_ posing for but who was he to question the magic mysteries of this place. Under such were two black mantles, both with golden boxes filled with black sand. Centered in each were two heavy medallions shaped in the sigils of Alderaan and Takodana. And furthermore, to add to all the pageantry, between the two was a floating crystal set afire. Both Ben and Rey took a step towards it as if they couldn’t help themselves.

“The flame is the heart of the blade and the heart is the flame of this union, _”_ Rey breathed.

“This union is the flame of the Core. Core is the blade of the heart,” Ben continued.

“All are intertwined. The crystal, the blade, this union,” they recited together, his deeper tones flitting with her silvery ones. He watched her; his attention robbed from the eternal flame to her lips. She was beautiful like this, tanned face washed aglow from the flickering blaze, and even more beautiful when she said the next words with him, a universal truth that neither of them could ignore.

“We are one.”

Several minutes, hours, seconds later, Finn cleared his throat, his hand sweeping towards the rest of their suite. The hallway they were traversing continued straight until it flared in two separate directions leading to two separate quarters.

From the doorway, Ben noted that each quarter was decorated in rich blues and greens—although the shades of blue and green were specific to their respective clans—ivory and jade, golden statues and rare tapestries, a modest antechamber commandeered by smooth black and white marble floors and damask patterned walls with matching high relief maps of Core.

Both rooms were practically identical, save any personal effects—he spotted his calligraphy set on his new study, his quill and parchment notebook twined together. His bed was a massive four poster… _thing_ carved out of a solid piece of wood with sharp jagged pieces of white birch jutting out at odd angles along vertical columns of black glossed cedar. He wasn’t sure who selected that…monstrosity for him, but he could guess—Armitage Hux.

Rey’s bed was similar, yet much softer, the white birch tinted of a soft loamy green, her mattress covered in fur and silk, a subtle mix of masculine and feminine energy that suited her perfectly. 

The one _obvious_ difference between their rooms? Rey’s was filled with vases over vases of a _particular_ sort of flower, home to Alderaan.

He inhaled a deep breath, watching out of the corner of his eyes Rey noticed them, her eyes widening with surprise. He couldn’t tell if it was a good or bad sort of shock and so—because he found himself being more and more afraid of her reactions—stared out of her window, his eyes catching sight of something beyond it. “I didn’t know if you liked _starblossoms_ or not but…” Ben trailed off. “I would have gotten you something from Takodana but Takodana is filled with just…leaves.”

“I don’t like starblossoms…”

It was strange to hear the apologetic tone in her voice, as if she should be sorry for not liking his gift as it was. However, Ben felt the twitch of a smile. It was a problem, yes, but he was _very good_ at solving problems and this felt like steady ground, something familiar to him. With regained confidence he turned to her. “Oh! Well, if you tell me which kind you like, I will have them switched out—"

“At all.”

His smile died a horrible, painful death. “Help me…understand?”

“I don’t like flowers. I detest them.”

Of course she wouldn’t like flowers. She would not be Rey if she didn’t challenge him for everything he was worth every single chance she got.

Ben’s shoulders drooped; his large frame hunched over as he tried to think of a way to salvage this. Asking her beforehand would have been wise, or maybe even Finn, but it was foolish of him to assume that pleasing her would be anything less than monumental.

“I appreciate them.” A small hand landed on his shoulder, and Ben looked over. Her smile was small, barely breaking the surface of her discomfort, but it was still a smile. “They are nice. Smell good so…thank you?”

Ben nodded numbly, feeling as stupid as he felt. Of course, this made him angry, and if not for her consolation statement, he was sure Kylo would have been itching to show her how wrong she wasn’t for not accepting his offering with tremendous gratefulness.

She paused, looking over her shoulder. “Today has already been a day and I think I’m going to lay down for a bit. 

And now he was being dismissed.

“I trust the…servants,” she said, and he noted a matching distaste for the word when her nose scrunched up, “won’t fail to wake me, but if they don’t, can you?”

_That_ hummed through Ben, a gentle assuaging of his misplaced anger as he thought about the domesticity of her request—leaning over her body soft with sleep, a kiss to the forehead before gently shaking her awake for dinner. It pleased him so much that when Rey moved around him to explore her bedroom, Ben reached for her, not really knowing why, other than he wanted to touch her.

Mistake.

Rey looked down at his hand as if his touch were burning her skin off.

Ben swallowed, realizing his mistake, and took a step back, his hand falling to the side. “You’re still upset with me.”

Rey’s frown was colored with exhaustion and frustration. “I don’t think today is the best time to have that conversation.”

“I’d rather have this conversation today seeing as we will be living together from now on.”

Rey snorted, her skirts rustling as she turned back around. “Hardly.” Her hand came to the wall, thin fingers trailing down it before they curled into a fist. She knocked on the wall twice. “You forget that there are a couple slabs of wood separating us.”

Oh, for the love—“That’s a _technicality_ , Rey.”

“When did technicalities stop being truths? We live near each other, not _with_. A perfect setup if I may be so frank.”

“Ah,” Ben said simply, huffing a breath out through his nose, his nostrils flaring with annoyance. He walked to the door, and yanked it open. He could feel the Imperial Aide’s eyes flicking back and forth between the two like he was watching a well-played fencing match, sure this latest conversation would be added to the next round of gossip circling Coruscant about the Dyad Couple. “I will try to stay out of your way then. I’ll send someone if you oversleep.” He tried to gentle his tone, but it came out clipped and cold and Ben was too exhausted with this to correct himself.

“Ben,” Rey called out and there was something about the way she said his name, soft, insistent, imploring, that made him pause. Yet, he didn’t dare turn around. “I’m…not mad.”

Despite himself, he responded with a snort. “I would respect this— _your_ —decision with the weight and severity it deserved if you did not lie to me.”

“I’m not lying. I was never angry. Irritated, maybe. A tad bit disgusted because of the things Kylo said were…” She shook her head as if dispelling the memory. “I was never mad. I was… scared.”

Ben’s head snapped up. “Rey,” it almost came out as a whine. “I know I’ve given you every reason not to believe me on this account but…I would never, _ever_ hurt you,” he said.

His declaration was ardent and heartfelt, but Rey laughed, a tinkling sound, bells and the wind even though it cut through him like sharpened blades. “Let’s get something straight, Ben Solo. I was never under the impression you would hurt me. Or _could_ hurt me.”

Kylo did rear up at that—her challenge—but Ben’s warning growl reverberated in his head but before he could issue a retort, and magnificently fuck this up, she spoke again.

“I wasn’t scared _of_ you. I was scared _for_ you.”

Ben heart thudded painfully in his chest, but Rey’s was calm, their heartbeats a dissonance of contrasting reactions. “For…for me?”

“I’ve…lost control of my wolf before. When I was young, the night my—” She flinched at her own words, her brow furrowing with a flash of something raw and hurt. “Anyways, the look on your face right before I lost you—Ben would commit to memory the fact she said _lost you_ , as if she were somehow trying to _hold_ onto him—was so haunted and pained. I didn’t know what to do. Then…you were gone. As it has been explained to me, I may have been the cause. And for that I apologize.”

“Please never accept blame for how that mangy, feral, stupid wolf reacts. No matter what my siblings said, it was not your fault. I will do better. I promise.

She nodded. “I’m trying, Ben. It may not seem like it, but I am.”

“I…appreciate that.”

Rey shook her head. “I’m not doing it for you.”

And with that she was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People
> 
> [Mandalorian Crusaders ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Mandalorian_Crusaders)  
> [Rae Sloane - I cannot go into detail without LOSING it how we haven't gotten enough Rae Sloane. She was a Vader protege and practically RAN The Shadow Council and The First Order before being shipped off by Rax. SOMEONE! HER STORY! ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Rae_Sloane)  
> [Vaylin](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Vaylin)  
> [Chiss](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Chiss)  
> [Tjepo Juibop](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Tjepo_Juibop)  
> [Kyp Durron](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Kyp_Durron)  
> [Siv](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Siv)  
> [Torben](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Torben)
> 
> Places  
> [Dandoran](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Dandoran)  
> [Theed Hangar](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Theed_Hangar)  
> [Imperial Palace (Room of a Thousand Fountains, Chamber of Conclaves, The Great Tree, Grand Corridor)](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Imperial_Palace)
> 
> Things
> 
> [manda ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Manda_\(religious\))  
> [Rey's Chandelier that I want IMMEDIATELY ](https://www.lumens.com/nut-pendant-by-lzf-LZF521146.html?utm_medium=PLA&utm_source=google&utm_brand=LZF&utm_id=LZF521146&utm_campaign=1440416580&gclid=CjwKCAiAhJTyBRAvEiwAln2qB2zNHzKXeyNcnY4dhxz5Z1kGy3IDH5KSI09hFfeFmJxa7u3OSPNeKRoCGeUQAvD_BwE)  
> [womp rat](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Womp_rat/Legends)  
> [A Veilchenblau, a type of Rose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_%27Veilchenblau%27)  
> [cyare - [SHAH-ray]- Mando'a for beloved, loved, popular](http://mandoa.org/)  
> [Yaldā Night](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yald%C4%81_Night)  
> [Murakami orchid](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Murakami_orchid)  
> [Plom Blooms](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Plom_bloom)  
> [Gigglebuds](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Dewy_gigglebud)


	7. imprint

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the next chapter, I'm taking a SLIGHT break to update And We, Creatures of Danger but I'll be right, right back!

Rey hardly went a week without a nightmare. It was a shame to admit she was used to them—had learned how to ignore her red burning eyes after a night of tossing with rest, how sluggish she felt dragging herself through her daily duties, scarfing down Galen’s too bitter café to stay awake. A candle burning at both ends.

Then there was sudden, harrowing jolt of going from terror to awareness—a trauma all of its own—her sheets soaked with sweat, the disquieting images, flashbacks she never wanted to relive. She spent her days hiding it from Paige, or Fawler, her administrator who often corralled her first thing in the morning with a long list of things that needed to be done for the day, or Larlig, who would strip her sheets while Rey was away, never saying a word afterwards. She would come back to a made bed and resist the urge to cry herself to sleep.

Maz and Finn would always be there when it became just too much, too raw, too distressing for her to ignore. Maz, sweet, dear, Maz would rub her back and brew her a sleeping draught before tucking her into a spare bed she had in her laboratory.

“You are not being haunted, dear heart. Your nightmares are the consequence of chemical reactions from your medication—nothing more. Sleep. _Sleep_ , and I’ll be right here.”

It was always funny to her, in a morbid, anguishing way, that they continued to call it “medication.” It was a suppressant. One of the most ingenious variations of its kind.

_Hide all you want, little Rey. One day, someone is going to find you._

That’s what he’d said, the First Order militant who’d chased her through the woods of _Nymeve_ that day. With his dying breath, blood on his lips and teeth, gasped that her reckoning was coming.

Maybe. But until then she would hide. She would cut out any rotted, putrid life flesh that wished to harm her. She would live in the shadows of her own secret.

In this dream, she was with her father and sister in a field of tashflowers. In the greater distance was another figure, feminine, tall like she was, draped in the cochineal and scarlet. The scene, tranquil and warm, suddenly became a mackle of red and black and death. She dreamed, then, of First Order headbands and men and women with odious, murderous plans. She dreamed of the side of her family that had wanted her dead and had rendered heaven asunder in their fight to accomplish it.

When Julien was still around, he was her anchor, the solitary connective fiber to her past. When she would come to him, muddled and confused he’d tell her stories. Not because they helped ease Rey back into the sweet oblivion of sleep, but because he believed one of the best ways to arm Rey, was with the truth—even if it hurt.

Of the many stories Julien told her, the one that stayed with her was of the night of the Savage Moon. How she’d learn Black Squadron’s real purpose and the reason behind Coriander’s accelerated succession. The first night he’d told her, she’d been tired, the newfound weariness that came with grieving and running a clan simultaneously, running her ragged. In turn, her patience was frayed.

_“None of it makes sense! My father was healthy, he was strong. He wasn’t planning on stepping down for another decade. So, why—”_

_Julien held a hand up, like she was a bull and he was wearing red. “To answer that, I have to tell you about things that I’m not prepared to tell just yet. I have things I need to do, to set up, in order to protect you. And I won’t endanger you before those safeguards are in place. But I can tell you that Brenton knew it was time,” Julien said. “The people who wanted to hurt you, Rey? They wanted to do so because they don’t believe you have the right to be different. To_ exist _. Your father and your sister were prepared to go to whatever lengths they had to, to ensure your safety.”_

_“But why! What could I have done to them for them to want to hurt me?”_

_Julien sighed, his gaze drifting towards Nymeve. The silence was uncomfortable, weighed down with past hurts and unanswered questions, that reminded them both of what they’d lost. “Did you know who Tionne Solusar and Dorsk were?”_

_Rey nodded. Who didn’t? Dorsk was one of her father’s shrewdest advisers and Tionne Solusar was one of his closest friends in Takodana, aside from Maz. “They sat on the council.”_

_“They did more than that. Takodana is…weak, considerably weaker than the other villages. For that reason, your father decided that we needed a force that would protect the village should war break out again. Brenton…Brenton was building an army without Core’s knowledge, Rey. Tionne Solusar was the commander of that force—Black Squadron. Dorsk managed the funds so that their operations could not be detected by any other clan.”_

_Rey thought they were just a police force. She had a meeting with their current commander—Cilghal—in two months’ time, but Rey doubted she knew the truth of Black Squadron’s origins, either._

_“The truth behind its creation was one of the reasons your sister chose me as a mate. An alliance with Hoth and the Arctic Wolves would bring hundreds of thousands from the north if they were ever needed.” Julien paused, rubbing a corner of his eye, his exhaustion as apparent as Rey’s. “Yet, with the First Order, we couldn’t just declare open war on them without explaining why to The Arctic Wolf clans. And we simply could not afford to do that at the time. Too many secrets. So, we chose to deal with them on our own.”_

_An image of the hilt of a sword, a black headband and a red kyber crystal flashed across Rey’s vision._

_“Who are they? This First Order?”_

_“Bad news. A branch of our clan who defected generations before you were born.”_

_“Why?”_

_“Omnia Munda Mundis—everything is pure to pure men. They are charged, by their own command, with keeping the Kenobi clan…untainted. There were reasons why your father was obsessed with the integrity of Takodana. It was true that he was honest and virtuous, you know that, but he wanted,_ needed _the village to reflect those ideas. To keep the First Order from snooping, to keep Gallius Rax away.”_

_“Uncle?” Rey gasped. “I thought…I thought he was dead.”_

_Julien shook his head. “You’re thinking of Galli, his older brother. Galli was liberal compared to Gallius. Where Galli would demand exile of someone they found unworthy, Gallius would demand their heads.”_

_“Why—why do we listen to them? We are our own people!” Rey felt anger racing through her veins. “They were terrorists! They served no one with their foolish beliefs!”_

_“We owed them money. A loan under the name Ovanis. ”_

_Rey frowned, remembering the black ledger book in her father’s—no, her’s now—study with that word written on it. “This is too much, Julien. I have so many why’s and not enough answers.”_

_“One day very soon you will get those answers, I promise. I’m only telling you this tonight because I don’t want you to ever forget. Never forget that Brenton and Coriander…” Julien’s voice wavered. He inhaled deeply and tried again. “Never forget that they—"_

This time Rey didn’t scream when she jerked awake. She sat still for a long moment, blinking in confusion because her surroundings were different. Spires of a bed reaching towards the ceiling dotted the corners of her vision, white and tan curving around each other so gently that, at first, she thought she may still be dreaming. Then it hit her—she no longer lived in her simple bed within her simple home in Takodana.

_The_ _Dyad_... _._

Right.

Huffing out a breath, she pulled herself up to sitting, feeling some of the stress from the previous day down in her bones, a soreness that was more irritating than painful. She was greeted with a sea of yellow that adorned her credenza, and now the floor, petals drifting off stems to create a pale golden blanket over the white tiger rug.

He _was_ trying. Her situation wasn’t his fault, none of it was. And he was _trying—_ maybe not gently, but he was being kind and thoughtful, and if Rey had a baser instinct to feed into, she knew her appreciation would be more heartfelt than…whatever she felt. Because she felt something. There was just no name for it.

It was nearing dusk. The servants had lit candles while she slept, and the scent of lavender and vanilla overpowered the fleeting woodsy smells that had dominated her room earlier. Sitting on a _kurline_ speckled tray was an assortment of fruits and cheese. She plucked a grape from the bunch and studied it. They didn’t have many fruit trees in Takodana, save for tashnuts and the Andui’l apples that were small, bitter, and hard. They mainly depended on trade between their village and Endor for agriculture. In turn, Takodana would send facilitators to help settle Endor’s frequent disputes between its many, many species. She remembered herself having to race to Endor before a territory war broke out between the _Ewoks_ and the _Duloks_ after a “kidnapping” of a _wokling_.

The green grape tasted sour in her mouth but was succulent and the juices moistened her mouth and throat. She swallowed, liking the sweet aftertaste, and reached for another when the sound of water splashing nearby caught her attention. The sound was coming from one of the windows above her bed, a rectangle cutout in the pod’s wall.

Rey remembered the streams of water that ran under the bridge in the pavilion, but she never asked where they led to. Curious, she stood on her bed, toes pressing into the furs as she looked out towards the back of the pavilion.

At first, she noticed that their portion of the Dyad Suite was section off from the rest by a thicket of trees that formed a circle of protection from wandering eyes and invaders of all sorts. The dwelling behind their suite sank into the ground in huge rocky layers and—there! That’s where the water flowed to! There was a large freshwater pond at the base, gathering up the turbulent water cascading down the rocks in a white wall of water. 

Rey smiled. How nice. A waterfall.

Then…

There was a saying. _“It was curiosity that killed the cat.”_ Rey was no cat, yet the way her heart sank into her stomach was reconsidering her breed. Rey, as it was, never paid much attention to her libido. Why? Up until a few days ago, she had no plans to ever mate, and any sticky fumbling only occurred when it was her and her hand alone. And even then, it was perfunctory—a way to forget about a stressful day, a perfect segue to sleep. When Junto—a cougar shifter who owned a private store of…erotic things—came into town, her carrying case slung over her shoulder, Rey would _flee_ to the other side of town.

So, when her cunt clenched, an urgent throb between her folds, she honestly didn’t understand why at first. Maybe because she was too busy paying attention to the waterfall. 

“They make bathtubs for a reason,” she whispered, awed.

Ben Solo stood in their grotto, water sloshing over his body. His _completely_ naked body.

There was a rumor once, when she was younger, a girl not yet a woman, that pervaded every corner of Prey amongst the young shifters. Ben had just been named Alpha of Takodana after successfully defeating Han Solo. That wasn’t the rumor—it’s started it. The rumor, because with all ascensions, came talk, was that Ben’s father was not Snoke, but a tree demon.

Which was ridiculous—tree demons don’t reproduce, they _clone_ —and Rey, being sensible, never fed into them because she wouldn’t do Ben the dishonor. Yet scant years later, when he showed up to Takodana to congratulate her for her own ascension, Rey paid the rumors heavy, _heavy_ mind. Because Ben _was_ built like a tree. _A kriffing, karking Wroshyr tree._

But she had been young and still in mourning, so her appreciation for him lacked the fire that set Jysella and Jem ablaze. Rey was more appreciative of his gentle smile as he looked down at her rather than his massive build.

Now?

See, people often thought that Ben’s claws and quick wit were his most dangerous attributes.

Rey blinked slowly. _Whole damn clan collective was wrong. Very wrong._

Ben ran a hand—large—through his dark as night hair, slicking it back and revealing his ears—another source of rumors for young people who had nothing better to do. He didn’t seem to mind that his ears were exposed, just as he didn’t have a problem with the _rest_ of him being exposed, an exhibition—a _god_ on display. His back looked like it was chiseled from a solid piece of stone, and the sculptor took his time with his art, carving each muscle and hard ridge of his physique. It glistened as water ran down the tributaries of lean muscle.

Stars. He had an _amazing_ ass and his _thighs_.

Rey squeezed her own thighs together, her body wanting something— _friction, touch, something that pushed her towards a precipice_ —but Rey found that multitasking took too much thinking, and her entire focus was on him—damn _him_!—her eyes—damn _them_!— refusing to close, her head refusing to turn…

And to Rey’s unmitigated horror, she realized that she didn’t want to.

_What in the_ absolute _fuck._

She should have never listened to Jacen, never taken that walk with him! She _needed_ those reservations, they protected her! Rey had lived her entire adult life like this! Every decision she made was fueled by her secret. Nothing else mattered—not Ben’s feelings, his circumstances, his duty, his beliefs. _None of it_.

But without that mental block…

Without warning, Ben whipped around and for ten terrifying seconds, he stared right back at Rey. Rey saw something flash across his eyes, like molten gold desire, and there it was—that incessant _throbbing_. She shifted, searching for relief and found nothing. Nothing. The world slowed to a crawl as Ben’s hand moved to his chest. Softly, he began to tap.

_thumpthump thumpthump thumpthump_

Rey blinked. Then frowned. She watched Ben’s fingers move in time with something…something she could feel. Yet, it was one off from her own pulse.

_thumpthump thumpthump thumpthump_

There. _There_. Her hand drifted to her own chest.

_thumpthump thumpthump thumpthump_

_Mighty Maker on high,_ Rey groaned _._

_I can feel Ben’s heartbeat._

Elder Dowager Holdo looked down at the tablet in her lap, her fingers lingering over Gungar’s name. She traced each letter of his name over and over again until the tip of her finger was sore and red. She looked over her room located in the _Pavilion de Vidua_ —the dwelling for widows. They’d moved her here the night after Gungar died and she’d never been more grateful for the laws of Core. She couldn’t have slept another night in that room, the one only separated from his by a thin wall. Or see the door she would rap on late at night when sneaking into his room. Not with all the years and secrets and love they’d shared there.

She could still hear his voice.

Still, the thought that she was finally leaving The Imperial Fortress felt bittersweet. It had been her home for so long that she was unsure if she’d ever be comfortable anywhere else. Yet Appenza Peak would welcome her. Quiet. Peace. A place she could rest until she could join Gungar at his side at the Eternal Caves.

Holdo smiled.

There was a knock at her door. Her personal servant, Ninka, entered.

“It is time, Elder Dowager.”

Ninka had been with Holdo as long as Gungar had, her face now beginning to show the signs of aging that came with living for centuries. Gentle as a new mother, Ninka took the tablet and placed it in velvet and silk lined carrying case, before checking Holdo’s clothing and makeup one last time. Then bravely, Holdo stood and left her pavilion. Together, with the rest of her retinue, they walked through the Fortress, then through the courtyard, and then through the three rings to the gate.

The gate was open and the colors of Core, black and gold, besieged Processional Way on both sides, flags and banners bearing their sigil swaying in the late evening wind. These flags would be with her as she made the long journey to Appenza, her last stand.

Those who greeted her consisted of the high-ranking shifters, officials and administrators of The Fortress and Core—Core’s council, the Wives of Core, The Sons of Valor, Animus, the High Guard and The Moon Maidens. Yet, four faces, two of whom she wanted to see more than anything, stood amongst the flags of Core, waiting for her with the warmth and familiarity that came with decades of friendship.

Lando was the first to reach her. He grabbed her hand and kissed it across the knuckles, a ubiquitous flirtatious twinkle in his eye. Holdo laughed and prayed he would never change. Lando Calrissian had been her rock in these last few days, shelving most of his responsibilities to let her cry in his lap. For hours, he shared stories about Gungar that she’d never heard before. Durteel Haza kissed her on her forehead. He wasn’t a man of many words when he was emotional, as he was now, so he slipped his hand in hers, squeezing once. When he let go, a pendant lay in the cup of her calloused palm. A Delphi Wild Space signet set atop a garnet and rose gold ring.

She was the Dowager, she would never _need_ to call for help, but the significance was heartfelt all the same. She would treasure it, always.

The sound of drums beating in the distance echoed over Processional Way and with it was the signal that it was almost time. Lando and Durteel stepped back and Holdo and her retinue turned towards the sound.

_There they are._

The newly minted Supreme Alpha and Alpha Prime marched through the rings of The Fortress, trailed by their very own retinue until the two of them stood facing her.

She studied them, marveling at how she’d watch them grow up, from babes to young children, and now, the leaders of their clan collective. Time was so elusive, stretching it seemed until you let go and watched it wither and shrink away.

She took in Ben first—proud, proud, benevolent Ben Solo, son of Han and Leia. She’d always seen it in him, the overwhelming capacity for leadership, striving for it like he had no other choice. His soul was gentle, his prowess, fierce, and his judgement, stout. Oh, how he had the courage to smile in spite of it. It was known in every village how hard Ben’s childhood, his youth spent in the clutches of a madman in circumstances that no one could alter. Stars, the power that Snoke had once, over Alderaan, over Ben, over them all. But Maker! What a fine wolf he’d turned into. Of all the Alphas of Core, she was the proudest of him.

She glanced at Rey and it was here she felt the warmth of her faith fill her heart. Holdo didn’t question much, it wasn’t in her nature. Her nose told her everything she ever needed to know. She’d trusted what her nose had told her about Brenton, she’d trusted what her nose had told her about Coriander. Her nose trusted the things they’d confided in her. She also trusted what her nose had told her about the Oracles’ decision.

_“Gungar,”_ his name whispering in her mind. _“You were so worried for this clan. But look!_ _An Omega will help guide Core through tragedy and into everlasting peace. If only you were alive to see this…_ _you wouldn’t believe it!”_

Rey quickly dipped low, her head bent in deference and respect. “You don’t have to leave, Elder Dowager. Please stay.”

Holdo smiled and lowered to a squat so she was able to look up into Rey’s face. She placed a finger below her chin and lifted her head so Rey could see her eyes. “You bow to no one, Rey Kenobi. Not now, and not ever again. Understand that no one can take your power. Many will try, for they will hate you by virtue alone. Yet, it is yours—by bared teeth and bloodied claws.”

She raised her head to look at Ben, who’d been staring at their exchange with solemnity, yes, but also an unreadable emotion that only he could put a name to. “The two of you will be the strongest Core has ever seen, as you stand not in the shadow of tyrants, but on the shoulders of giants. Yet, never forget that things will be hard. People will oppose you, challenge you, slander your name, try to tear you two apart. Rely on each other, trust in each other, for there are no two people in the world like you, and no other person will understand the weight of leadership like the other. Remember that you,” she paused, her blue eyes dipping towards Rey’s verdant ones, “were chosen because you are strong and righteous. Remember that you two were brought together for a _reason_.”

Holdo stood, bringing Rey with her, and motioned to Ninka. In her hands was one half of the tablet that signified Gungar’s claim of The Imperial Fortress. Slowly, she walked to the gate and stared up at the remaining tablet. Holdo blinked back her tears as she reached up and removed the other half with her name on it.

Rey and Ben were close behind her. They each placed theirs on the gate, granite stone with their names and titles etched into it, their tablets succeeding their previous owners’ place with a thud of finality.

_Rest easy now, Gungar. Our clan is in capable hands. Rest._

Holdo turned to the throng of people. “It is done. You have all served Gungar and I well, and I will never be able to pay you back for your kindness, your council, and your loyalty. For three centuries Gungar and I were your leaders. And now it is time to say goodbye. I hope you will welcome _Dyad_ with open arms as you welcomed Gungar and I. I will miss you all.”

In one precise movement, the procession split right down the middle, making a long pathway for Holdo and her retinue. As they passed, fist flew to their chest and heads lowered as they gave their final respects and farewells to their former Alpha leader.

Now as Amilyn again, she walked to the steps of a waiting palanquin and climbed in.

She lowered the curtain and did not look back.

**Felucia : Unknown Lands**

A glass snifter smashed against the wall, brown liquid staining the faded, peeling beige paint and the bitter smell of aged ale drifted around the small home. He heard Asiyah exhale, a weary sigh, before she stood, wordlessly, and crossed the room. She bent down and began to pick up the pieces of the broken glass. Snoke glared at her out of the corner of his eye and tried to drum up something for her other than thickly veiled obligation. It was _hard_. She yanked her hand back when she nicked her finger on a jagged shard.

“Be careful, foolish girl.”

Her eyes narrowed, and her nose scrunched up in a snarl, but she said nothing, turning away from him to hide the extent of her annoyance. Asiyah kept silent, however, and dedicated herself to moving at a slower pace to get the pieces off the floor.

He rolled his eyes at his mate, stood, and left her there, with his mess, deciding it was better to be outside than near her and her contempt. He should just kill her. Strangle her while she slept in their bed or took a knife to her heart. Worthless. She was _worthless_. Nothing like his true mate.

He lived on a small squat of land, usurped after he’d quietly done away with the previous landowners, two elderly Beta Felucians who were much, much too trusting. It was out of the way, far from Core’s borders, where he’d been exiled. No one bothered him, yet no one came and visited him either. It wasn’t the sentimentality of wanting someone near. It was that Snoke was used to command, and ever since they’d forced his private army to disband, he’s had to settle for small gestures of control. It was a most grating experience.

He stood on the edge of his own personal plot of farmland—because there were no markets in Felucia, just farming and more farming. If you wanted to eat, you grew your food. It was beneath him, so that’s why Ma’ab and Ruqayyah, the only two of his Dwartii Maidens remaining, tended the soil. Gave them something to do, because stars knows he had nothing more to offer them. Years ago, a group of twenty had sworn their allegiance to him, the bravest out of his army, yet only two had truly meant it. They’d stayed by his side through his rise and fall in Alderaan, the humiliation of his trial, and the severity of his sentence. They’d travelled ahead of his exile, seeking out lands for their Alpha, settling on Felucia in the end.

At one time, he’d hoped to mate with Ruqayyah, but she felt her only position was to serve him.

She was smart. He was poison.

Suddenly Ma’ab dropped her gardening spade, her hand flying to the waist of her muddied pants for her _khanjar._ “Stop where you are! Name yourself!”

Snoke may complain that no one came to visit him, but he was also very wary when someone decided to make the trip because there was no real reason to travel to the backwater settlement. He glanced up the path littered with _yerdua_ plants, curious yet cautious.

It was a woman. She was dressed in all black with strands of sable hair that fell over a equally black headband. She most definitely wasn’t from Alderaan. Even someone from Alderaan would know that wearing too many layers in the humid heat of Felucia’s jungles was asking for a heat stroke. He, himself, was barely clothed, a thin cotton shirt and linen pants that allowed whatever breeze the place offered to cool him down.

“Stand down, Ma’ab,” Snoke said as he came to stand beside her. And she relaxed immediately, tucking her _khanjar_ back into her waist band, although she did not move from Snoke’s side.

The woman eventually approached, a slinky, catlike gait that put him on edge. She raised her hands, one by one, maybe to prove she didn’t have a sword or knife on her. Weaponless or not, he wasn’t going to just trust her.

“Who dare approaches?”

The woman paused mid-step. “You really don’t recognize me,” she said, amazed. “Stars, you must be _really_ drunk.”

Snoke squinted and took a few more prudent steps towards her. “Ah,” Snoke intoned, annoyed, as he finally recognized her. “For what do I owe the displeasure?”

Bazine grinned, her fingers sliding across her lips. “You really should lay off the drink, my friend,” she purred. “You’re not as sharp as you used to be.”

Snoke frowned, at her being her, at her referring to him as “friend”, and turned back for his house, stepping on a sillum root in his haste. “State your purpose,” he threw over his shoulder. “I am sure I told you and that mongrel Gallius to leave me be.”

Bazine followed him into the house, uninvited, and took a seat at the kitchen table, kicking back the chair next to it and throwing her long, lean legs on top of it. Snoke glared at her and the chair but Bazine smirked at his ire, getting comfortable. “I know you don’t really mean that.”

“Oh, but I do.”

“Well,” she sighed, not bothering to feign any displeasure with his inhospitable attitude. “I’ll get straight to the point despite it taking me great lengths it took for me to get here.”

Snoke snorted. “My advice would be to enjoy the facilities of your own home in the future, rather than bother me.” Snoke reached for another snifter in his collection of them at the center of his kitchen table and grappled behind him for the urn of ale he had hidden in an icebox.

“You’ll want to be sober for the news I came to deliver,” Bazine stated as she watched Snoke filled the snifter to the brim. “Or as sober as you’re capable of,” she muttered under her breath.

“You misjudge my tolerance. It is quite high. Now, please, if you will? If your news is about Takodana, I’m afraid I am beyond disinterested. I only have enough hate for one village and that’s Alderaan.”

Bazine lowered her legs from the chair, and leaned across the table, her finger caressing an edge of one of Snoke’s snifter. “We’ve found your son.”

Snoke looked at her out of the side of his eye as he gulped down his drink. When he was finished, he laughed. “I am quite aware of where Jacen is. And he is…not my son.”

“With all the noise about the Blood Moon, _everybody_ knows where Jacen is. However, I’m not talking about Jacen. I’m talking about Dal Konur.”

Snoke sighed heavily, the exhalation heavy with old hurt. “That name is dead, because Dal Konur is dead, Bazine. He has been dead for a very long time. I thank you for reminding me of that and now, I must ask you to leave.” Snoke stood, fingers wrapped around the stem of his glass with plans to leave the room. Bazine could find her way out. She was a smart girl.

“Funny because I believe I said we found your son, not your son’s _body_.”

“Dal’s soul is no longer with us,” Snoke reiterated. “I witnessed his fall down that chasm.”

Bazine scoffed. “No, you didn’t. You saw _a_ body fall down the chasm. You assumed it was Dal Konur. It wasn’t.”

“Stop with your lies,” Snoke hissed. “If Dal is alive, then why is he not home? Why is he not with me?”

“Why would we send your son into exile with you? A waste, really, considering.” She glanced beyond Snoke’s shoulder where Asiyah was dusting.

“Bazine,” Snoke growled.

The woman raised her hands, placating. “Answers. You always want _answers_. Yet, they are not free, Snoke. You want to know more about your son, you will have to, at the very least, listen to why I came.”

Snoke was back sitting at the table before Bazine could finish her statement. His fingers curled into his palm, knuckles turning white as he leaned forward. “I am listening. I cannot promise you anything, but you do have my ear.”

Bazine templed her fingers under her chin. “Currently, as expected, the seat of Alpha is vacant in Alderaan with your son—"

“Do not speak his name around me,” Snoke growled. “He is nothing to me.”

“With _Ben_ , then, as the Supreme Alpha of Core,” Bazine finished. “Succession rules have not changed much but I’ve been researching loopholes and I have discovered one. Dal may not be a member of Alderaan, but he is of your body, and that leaves him some room to ask for entry. It also means that he has the right to vie for the seat of leadership as any other person.”

Snoke laughed. “Foolish child. You think they are going to vote a stranger into power for the simple fact that he is my son?” Snoke tsked. “You do not know the elders of Alderaan very well.”

Bazine shrugged. “It’s not a popularity contest. Alderaan recognizes strength and leadership. I can guarantee Dal Konur is a good Alpha, a _very_ good Alpha,” she hummed. Snoke didn’t want to know what she was implying. “With your help, we…can get him installed as Alpha.”

Snoke had heard enough. “You have _vastly_ overvalued my influence in Alderaan. I cannot help you. I am in exile! Leave me out of your schemes. The last time I listened to you zealots, I mated a woman who in the end wanted me dead. So, you and Gallius have my leave to pretend I don’t exist.”

There was silence in the wake of Snoke’s rant, and as he glared at Bazine, giving her mere seconds to leave his presence, she stared back with an unaffected patience that rankled him. “We’ve tracked down Leia,” she said finally.

Snoke felt rooted to his seat. His body felt cold, unbearably cold. “You’re lying,” he snarled.

“Tell me, Snoke. What reason do I have to lie to you? Your cooperation would be plenty helpful, yes, but it is by no means the linchpin to our success. Everything I proposed, we can complete on our own.” Bazine shrugged. “Even so, I am offering you the world. An Alpha son of your body and the woman you love.”

“Impossible,” Snoke hissed, rearing back. “I’ve—I am mated. Asiyah…”

“Technicalities. A true first mate is worth the weight of a million subsequent mates. I’ll lead you to her, Snoke. You can have her again as you were always meant to. But you have to help us,” Bazine stood. “Gallius requests an audience. Will you honor it?”

A muggy breeze blew through his house, lifting Bazine’s black hair from her headband. A red kyber crystal stared back at Snoke.

“Tell him I’ll be there.”

“Good. I’ll send a messenger to let him know.”

“You’re not going to run back and deliver such…sensational news yourself?”

Bazine was always terrifying. She would kill you faster than she would embrace you. Her answering smile, was in fact, just as chilling. “Afraid not. I have a feast to attend.”

Ben was actually—finally—enjoying himself.

The tablet succession ceremony by design was to be a somber event. No one ever wanted to say goodbye, but again, for creatures like them, no one was ever really gone. Nonetheless, watching the old replaced with the new, even if he was that new thing, had put a damper on his mood. Elder Dowager was like an aunt to him. Leia would say she _was_ his aunt, that they knew very well that blood was not the only requirement for family. He was always reminded of quiet, indomitable strength when he was near her. And just maybe, he should allow her departure, with her head held high, to speak of that strength.

Hopefully she would find peace and rest on Appenza Peak.

But now he felt better.

He observed the Great Assembly Room with mild interest from his seat. It was decorated in shades of Core, golden banners and ribbons, tables topped with the blackest silks and silverware that gleamed ebony in the torch light. The tables were filled with officials from all over, all in the throes of enjoying themselves. Ben, although he cared little about décor and feast, had to hand it to the Imperial Aide—he had done an amazing job.

To his right, Rey giggled in delight at the pair of Lah’mu dancers who were juggling an assortment of objects they’d randomly picked up from their table at the head of the room. Ben placed his head in the palm of his hand and gazed at her.

While he’d decided to stick to his black and grey leathers—the ceremonial version with gilded buttons securing the front—Rey was a vision in black and gold. Her dress this time was a high collard midnight black robe with layered velvet sleeves that trailed to the floor. The sigil of a wolf sat proudly in a swirling gold flecked laurel across her chest and a thick leather sash with golden strings was pulled tight around her waist, allowing the lower half to flare like the petals of a _hai-ka_ flower. But more than her dress, it was her actual _smile_. Her face lit up, completely, every muscle moving in symphony and her large eyes, rimmed in a heavy but sultry line of kohl, turned into lovely crescents when she laughed. He had an odd compulsion to run his fingers across her cheeks, to see if the powdery golden sprinkles stayed put.

The festivities did not, however, remove their dire need of a talk. According to Finn’s interminable, boring lecture, which he’d surprised Ben with after they’d left Rey’s room, the two of them were supposed to be perfectly in sync by the Mating Moon. For that to happen, they were going to have to be completely honest with each other. Become _one_ —or at least be able to hold a conversation without Ben flying off the handle or Rey acting as if he were a speck on her shoe.

He did, by some measure of astonishment, believe that that—their synchronicity—was beginning to happen.

Ben’s decision to take a bath in the grotto behind his suite was impulsive. He’d always enjoyed the crisp coldness of fresh water and hadn’t hesitated when he’d discovered the waterfall. Upon noticing that the grotto was secluded and sectioned off from the rest, lest they see something they did not want to, he had thrown caution to the wind and undressed with a fervor that belied his earlier exhaustion.

It was mid-bath when he’d caught Rey staring at him. He hadn’t seen her at the window, not at first. His first indication was the rapid acceleration of her heartbeat, which thumped solidly in his chest. At first, he thought something was wrong and when he whipped around in trepidation, he’d spotted her.

She’d been… _ogling_ him like he was a piece of meat, a wholly new occurrence. He was sure she hadn’t even been aware of the look on her face—a hungry, yearning, insatiable looks that was with odds with everything he knew about her and her aversion for everything, well, _him_. 

Kylo had growled in satisfaction in the back of his mind. _You’ve made your impression on her, Ben._

For a scant moment, Ben didn’t know what his wolf was talking about…until he did. If it were true, _if_ it were true, he would find the time later to confirm it. For now, he would just enjoy Rey enjoying herself.

_You’re in love,_ Kylo dared, his tone, amazed.

Ben scoffed. _**That’s a highly erroneous magnification of my…feelings. It’s been two days—of course I’m not in love with her. I’m not that foolish. I know nothing about her other than superficial things that I could learn from any person in Core. Nothing of her likes, her dislikes—flowers. Well, other than me, obviously.** _

_Self-loathing doesn’t become you._

_**I’m stating facts. The only thing I can do is try and trying isn’t working.** _

_Sounds like love to me._

_**That’s because you’re** _ **fucking _insane. You almost ruined everything, you know that? Everything! Do you know how long it’s going to take before she trusts me near her again? All because you wanted to prove a point?_**

Kylo sniffed, indignant. _It was a point that needed to be proved. And that is: Take her. It’s your right._

_**This—this right here—is why I’m in control! You don’t own her. I don’t own her.** _

_She is yours,_ Kylo reasoned. _If she denies that, what happened is her own fault._

_**You are** _ **disgusting _. There is a difference between belonging to someone and_ owning _them. Go away before you fuck things up again._**

Ben pushed the obstinate unreasonable part of him to the back of his mind. He was so engrossed with dealing with his inner demon that he didn’t realize the servants were clearing their meals off the table. He groaned. He hadn’t had too many bites and he’d pay for that later.

The evening flowed into the part of the night’s festivities where the villages and hamlet settlements offered congratulatory gifts. Avaal was first. The hamlet provided the couple with an indoor water filtering system made in the shape of a beautiful rock cluster. A representative from Chiss offered up an arrangement of exotic oils that had the tip of Rey’s ears red and Poe outright laughing.

“If you don’t want that, my liege, let me have them. I know exactly how to put them to good use,” the Mandalore Alpha leered, winking lewdly at Finn. In turn, the Imperial Aide lowered his face behind his hands and groaned.

“And you want to _mate_ with that barbarian,” Jaina muttered as she reached for her cup. “Preposterous.”

“Don’t start with me bitch,” Poe growled.

Jaina stood up, furious, shaking the entire table as she did. Jacen groaned as his drink spilled over. “Shut your stupid mouth before I hex you with the penis the size of a shrewberry seed.”

That had Rose snorting into her goblet of ale and Hux turning away from the table so he could hide his laughter in the cuff of his sleeve.

Poe matched her anger, standing up so fast the back of his knees pushed his chair over.

“Ha! That’s funny because even if you were powerful enough to do such a thing, which you aren’t, I would _still_ have a cock, which Finn happens to enjoy by the way, while you would not.” He turned to everyone at the feast. “Attention, everyone! Is there any good man or woman in attendance that would be so bold as to marry this lovely vipress of a wolf? I’ll even pay you! I’ll pay you so much money that it will clink out of your ass at the very mention of taxes. Anything so that I can have just a little bit of peace!”

“Well, okay!” Phasma exclaimed, hands up as if that alone would keep the peace. “Where is the next gift? Quickly, now…before we all die.”

The next presenter hurried to the stage while Jaina and Poe sat down, glaring at one another. It was another group of dancers, eleven in total. At the center was a taller woman, glossy black lip stain revealed beneath a half mask that covered her from forehead to nose. Their ensemble was made complete when two more came onto the floor, a flute player and a drummer.

“What village is this?” Rey asked as she leaned towards Ben.

Ben frowned. He appraised their black outfits that just had a stroke of red across the breast. “I’m not sure. I can’t make out any of their standards.”

The musicians started, a jaunty, upbeat tune, and the dancers took their places, ten of the women surrounding the black lipped one, and they all unsheathed swords. Ben found himself thrilled, and he grinned. He nudged Rey, pointing to the one in the middle. “A sword dance. Maybe Ryloth?”

Rey hummed. “Those are _clearly_ not Twi’lek unless they are hiding their lekkus somewhere.”

Ben chuckled. “No, but maybe a hybrid. I heard they have ones for all kinds of occasions—new births, war preparation, fertili—” His snapped his mouth shut. “I mean to say that may, uh, Ryloth isn’t unreasonable.”

Rey tilted her head, blinking those pretty green eyes. “They dance to make babies, you can say it. I’m not _that_ frigid, Ben,” she gave, her laughter tinkling at his expense. “Although I supposed that making babies requires a dance of some sort in any case.”

“I’m sure,” Ben murmured. “And you’re not.”

Rey’s brow rose. “I’m not what?

“Frigid. I—you’re very warm.” His eyes slid close. What was it about her that made him lose all of his senses? “I mean lively.” _Oh, yes, Ben. So romantic._ “Buoyant.” _Goddamn it._

Rey hummed but refrained from commenting, her attention recaptured by the performance.

The swords refracted the torch light and their oiled bodies dancers gleamed. They moved with precision, circling the woman standing center, who handled the blade with the fluidity and grace of a trained fighter. Swords glided over bare skin, into the air and behind backs. It was beautiful and, oh so very sensual. Rey didn’t seem to mind. Matter of fact, she seemed to enjoy them greatly, her body leaning forward as she watched them perform. Ben made a note to have them perform for the Mating Moon.

The musicians’ notes shifted into the next song, this one statelier than the previous. The dancers lined up, their sword extended while the main dancer toss hers into the air, catching it behind her back. One of the musicians, the flutist, lowered her weapon and began to sing.

Only because Ben was watching her did he notice Rey’s furrowed brow. “Is something wrong?”

Her eyes danced, flicking back and forth as if she were trying to recall something lost to time. “I…think I know this song.”

“You do? Can you recall its origin? Maybe that’ll help us solve our case of the mysterious dancers?” he jested.

Rey frowned, her eyes sliding close. “This is…” The wrinkle on her forehead deepened as she followed the melody with slight movements of her head. Ben didn’t know if she was in distress or lost in her thoughts. He moved tap her, break her out of her musings, when her lips parted, and she began to sing some of the words softly.

_Tis chastity, my brother, my sister, chastity_

_Clad in complete steel, chastity_

_Like a quivered nymph, where through the sacred rays of chastity_

_No savage fierce, bandit, or mountaineer will dare to soil purity—_

Rey froze, her eyes flying open. “It’s the—the Song of Piety,” Rey whispered, sounding haunted. Her hands curled into the silk tablecloth, knuckles turning white.

Ben’s brow creased. He’d never heard of it. He couldn’t imagine why such a song would exist in the first place. Without thinking, he reached for her hand and gently pried it loose from the handfuls of black silk between her fingers. Her hand turned up, an almost panicked gesture, and she laced their fingers together as if searching for Ben to keep her tethered to the ground. The sentiment was lovely, her grip was not. 

“Rey?”

Rey stood abruptly, her chair scraping across the hard stone floor. The musicians’ notes lagged then trailed off, odd flagging notes a cacophony in the sudden silence of the Grand Assembly Room. She lifted a finger, one not connected to the hand still locked with his, pointing to the main dancer in the middle.

“How do you know that song?”

The woman sheathed her sword and took a step forward. She was breathing heavily and seemed to welcome the interruption. “Was something wrong with it, my lady?”

Ben felt Rey’s hand shaking in his.

“I am _not_ your lady. Tell me! How do you know that song?!”

The woman shot a look to the other dancers and they shrank away behind her. Slowly, she reached behind her head, untying her mask. The leather slipped free and into her hand.

Rey’s grip tightened even more, almost to the point of pain and the color drained from her face, a sharp contrast to her black attire.

Ben heard Finn gasp from the other end of the table.

“B–Bazine?”

The dancer smiled gracefully before dipping into a low curtsey. “At your service,” she purred. 

Ben was left bereft, watching helplessly as a shroud of fear covered Rey, her heartbeat wild in his chest.

Ben was past the point of worry. “Rey,” he hissed. “What’s wrong.”

As if nothing had happened, as if she didn’t look like she’d seen death and survived, Rey regained her composure, tilting her head back like a regal, deadly queen. As the woman drew closer, the crowd lost interest in the sudden disruption, going back to chatting amongst themselves. However, those near Rey stood in rapt attention. She released a shaky exhale before gracing this Bazine woman with a tight smile. “It’s good to see you again, Bazine.”

The woman’s brow rose. “Oh, I do agree. It’s been _far_ too long, don’t you think?” She took another step then another and with each, Ben felt the tremors racing up and down Rey’s frame intensify.

Bazine leaned closer once she’d approached the table and Ben didn’t like the way she was looking at Rey, surreptitious and underhanded. Although he had no real reason to be alarmed, he was, and his hand dipped to his side where he carried a small ceremonial knife, ready to plunge it in the stranger’s neck.

Her eyes were locked on Bazine, but when Rey shook her head, a small motion that he would have missed otherwise, he unclenched his hand from around the knife. Yet, he remained wary.

“How can we help you?” he growled.

“I simply bring greetings from my clan to Rey,” Bazine slithered. “That’s what the occasion is for, isn’t it? Oh, Rey. Why are you frowning at _such_ good news? Offer me a smile, and I shall offer you one back.”

Rey didn’t offer a smile, an inch, nothing, just a cold, dead stare. “A smile?” she asked warily.

“Yes.” And Bazine’s voice dropped to a deadly whisper. “A smile of the _red_ variety. Ear...to ear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People
> 
> [Tionne Solusar](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Tionne_Solusar)  
> [Dorsk](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Dorsk_81)  
> [Cilghal](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Cilghal)  
> [Dal Konur](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Dal_Konur)  
> [Bazine](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Bazine_Netal)  
> [Ovanis](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Ovanis)  
> [Felucia](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Felucia)
> 
> Things
> 
> [Duloks](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Dulok)  
> [wokling](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Wokling)  
> [snifter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snifter)  
> [sillum root](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Nysillin)  
> [yeruda](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Yerdua)  
> [Red smile, a reference lifted to another jackass, Joffrey](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pjB21tV_y0)
> 
> Rey's dress for the feast, which reminds me of something that Padme would wear.  
> https://www.pinterest.com/pin/316518680046180152/?lp=true


	8. the savage moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively titled: Why Rey is the way that she is
> 
> Alternative title to the alternative title: Rey needs a hug. She BEEN needed a hug. 
> 
> Rey's family in this universe is pretty damn cool. However...

**Core Clan Village : Takodana**

Currently...

“Luna.”

Maz smiled as the familiar face walked into her shop. On her hip was a young boy, same button nose and full smile as his mother. He wiggled down off her hip and to the ground the moment he saw Maz, running across the shop and into her arms, his forehead smacking into her chest. “And my little Cricket! Look how big you’ve gotten!”

Luna sighed and leaned against the counter as Criskelt giggled into Maz’s neck. “He’s been asking _all_ week. When are we going to see Auntie Maz? Mommy, when? Mommy, when? And don’t think I don’t know it’s because you snuck him that _scrap rat_ when I told him no last time.”

“Ah,” Maz said sheepishly, “that.”

“Yes, that,” Luna laughed. “He put it in one of my pots and filled it with water and said ‘Mommy, rats need water, too!” when I caught him.”

Maz winced, then glanced at Criskelt, the toddler nodding as if he’d lectured of great wisdom to his mother.

She placed Criskelt on her stool then dug deep into her pockets to produce a purple druse agate stone and watched him marvel over the pretty colors before handing it over. “How are things with you and Big Cricket?”

Luna smiled, the tips of her ears going red. “Wonderful. No small thanks to you. It really worked, Maz. The bark. He tells me every day just how in love with my scent he is.”

“Well, I told you, you are special and it would take the right wolf to see that, right? I’m just glad that you are happy. Finn was asking about you the other day.”

“Ah! Was he? How is he doing? And his friend? Rey? And am I hearing things correctly? Rey is Core’s new Alpha Prime? I couldn’t go to the festival because Crisk’s mother is visiting. ”

Maz beamed. “She is, she is. Her father and sister would be so proud.”

Luna’s smile withered and she turned to look out of Salamander’s big window that looked out over the grassland flats. The edges of Nymeve Forest peeked in the periphery , the trees thick with celebratory smoke from Takodana’s bonfires. “Before he died, my father told me stories about the Savage Moon. All rumors, probably, but just that Brenton and Coriander loved Rey a lot. Nobody truly knows what happened. Rey banned all public talk of it.” Luna turned to Maz. “He says that you were there? What happened?”

Maz frowned and a finger slid under her goggles to rub at the corner of her eye.

She frowned because she knew he could never tell Luna, or _anyone_ , what really happened in the weeks after Brenton stepped down and Coriander took his place. She could never explain Coriander and Brenton’s predicament. Their decisions. Their reasons. 

She could never tell their stories.

She could never honor them the way they deserved.

**Core Clan Village : Takodana**

**TAKODANA ARCHIVED HISTORY**

**— OFFICIAL ACCOUNT OF THE SAVAGE MOON—**

**SEALED BY REY KENOBI**

Years ago…

“It’s a two–pronged offensive but I worry about the lack of coverage in certain places. How long will it take the vanguard to get in place?” Coriander asked as she looked out over the small council room centered in the squat, hollow belly of Black Squadron’s base. The walls were decorated with the clan’s accomplishments—things such as architecture, and counseling, and goodwill and humanitarian excellence. Yet, none of the walls said anything about valor or battle prowess.

Maybe it was time to change that.

Just hours ago, she stood in this room with the general and captains of Black Squadron and drew up this plan, the talks spurring argument after argument, concession after concession until something that resembled a functioning plan of attack formed.

Now it was empty, save the two of them.

Julien tugged on the straps of Coriander’s hardboiled leather chest guard with a soft grunt. “The main battalion is waiting,” he answered. “They are on standby, stationed at Maz’s campground, as not to alarm any of the townspeople. At my command, they will meet us at the edges of Nymeve. Then we cross.”

Coriander considered their plan, again and again, and something didn’t feel quite right. It was something Tionne had mentioned about the direction of the wind and where First Order’s borders actually lied. “No, an adjustment. We’ll need to send a messenger for this.”

Julien bit the inside of his cheek, his ever present worry and obvious dislike for last minute plan changes. “For what?”

“Have Wedge take his contingent here, to the far and north sides of Nymeve Lake.” She whirled on her toes towards the battle map, snatched up the pale blue pyramid shaped tokens and dropped them at the edges of Nymeve. “Then we’ll have him advanced from their position there to here—the east side of the forest,” she explained tapping on the gap created by their plan. _Winds are moving southeast, downwind._

“We short a commander, Jesmin is still in recovery. Unless you plan on upstarting someone—”

“Me, Julian. Me. I’ll take half of the Squadron north, me and my father. Tionee and you can take the bulk to the eastern border of the Nymeve. That way we have them surrounded on three sides. They can’t go south without turning into the Avaal’s River and trapping themselves.”

Julien frowned as he fastened the last buckled on his mate’s armor. His hair, like freshly fallen snow, had been braided back away from his face, so she could see the furrow creating deep lines across his brow. “I don’t like that idea.”

“And why not,” Coriander asked as she pulled her hair high off her shoulders and pinned it into a tight ball at the top of her head.

“Because I don’t like the idea of being separated from you.”

“Julien—this is war. A dogfight. Now is not the time to be—"

“Worried about you? Yes, this is war, and yes, a lot is at stake, but I have this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that won’t go away. So, excuse me for being concerned.”

Coriander stared down at the map one last time with a sigh before turning to her mate. “I wasn’t going to say worried. I was going to say _distracted_. I don’t want you out there with those—those _animals_ distracted. I want you to come home and I’d feel like shit if you were hurt because you were thinking about me instead of the fight.” She grabbed his hands and held them to her chin, muzzling them, her eyes falling close. She then turned rotated his wrist, revealing his gland, which she rubbed across her neck. “Thank you,”

Julien frown softened as he looked down at her. “For what? Being sentimental?”

Coriander laughed. “Yeah, that but…for your help, for your council. The fact that you have shown so much concern for my family. Rey really looks up to you, you know? I can’t tell you how much I love you for it. “

“She is my family too, Coriander and I will fight, teeth bared, bloodied clawed, for what’s mine. I’m just sorry we couldn’t ask for my parent’s help. The Arctic Wolf Clan would have been very useful tonight.”

Coriander hummed in agreement before she reached up on the tips of her toes and kissed her mate’s chin. In return, Julien laid his forehead against hers and for a long moment, they said nothing, a quiet peace, the calm before an ensuring storm, and just reveled in the other’s scent and presence.

“Do you know that I knew you were spying on me? Up north? Before we met formally?”

Coriander’s nose scrunched. “Spying on you?” she scoffed. “Be serious.”

“Deny it all you want, woman. But you’re the reason I started bathing in the lake more often…because I knew you were watching.”

“I wasn’t watching. I was _observing_. I’d heard all of these _things_ about you and to be completely honest, I believed none of it. Tall, handsome, winter white hair, with broad shoulders. The most absurd, fanciful collection of attributes. Absurd! No one is that good looking.”

“And? Did I live up to their tales?”

“No, you’re a wart.”

Julien laughed. “A wart you say? Is that why you stuck around for three more months watching me bathe every morning?”

“Yes. You’re a ridiculously intelligent, sweet, good looking… wart.” Coriander paused for a second, a recollection of a so-called chance meeting. “Hey! So if you knew, you bumping into me at the market…”

“Was on purpose.”

“You sneaky little—"

“It’s because I knew it was going to be you the moment I saw your head peeking over the bushes. Call it an innate sense of kismet. If you’d decided you weren’t going to ask my father for the alliance, I was going to come to you. Travel the earth for you. I would have done it. I would have done anything.”

Coriander sighed and tugged him closer. “Julien…”

The sound of a throat clearing behind them broke them apart. It was Dorsk, the Khommite shifter standing midway down the spiral staircase that led to the Black Squadron’s meeting hall. “I uh…apologize but Brenton and Tionne are asking for the two of you to address the Squadron. It is time.” He paused, leaving with an awkward, but reverent bow before leaving.

Coriander pouted, which prompted Julien to kiss her downturned lips. “Let’s make a bet,” she said, pout morphing into a playful smirk. “Last one home…has to listen to shifter disputes _all_ next week. No, for the next two weeks!”

Julien scoffed. “You say that like you were listening to them to begin with.” Coriander gave him an open mouth look of mock indignation and Julien rolled his eyes. “Whoever comes back home last does all of the chores, all of them, even,” he said with a pointed look, “fetching milk from Galen’s evil moof.”

“Geez, you are so boring. Deal,” she said, kissing Julien one last time and snatching the map off the battle table before jogging for the spiral steps, her mate right on her heels.

The chamber was, of course for holding meetings, a place for Takodana leadership to listen to formal disputes and make decisions. The Black Squadron meeting room was a much livelier place, despite its reason for existence. Tonight, it was reflective and somber. Four thousand of Takodana’s strongest fighters were crammed into the four walls of the chamber. A handful of the newer recruits were handing out last minute munitions and late correspondence to those who needed them. It was hot, but soon the wind whipping over the surface of Nyeme would cool them down.

Coriander and Julien took to the small rostrum at the front of the chamber and waited for the quiet murmurs and nervous whispers to die down. Everyone was fashioned in Squadron uniform—black hardboiled leathers and sturdy thick books. On the shoulder of each was a golden _triskelion_ , the insignia of the Black Squadron.

Before addressing the crowd, she nodded to Tionne and her two commanders (LOOK ON CHAR GUIDE), Dorsk, then finally to her father, Brenton Kenobi, sitting middle, his form covered in the battle armor he wore when he was Alpha of Takodana.

Coriander nodded. Everyone was here.

She took one step forward, Julien at her shoulder a half step back, and watched as every head bowed in respect. By the time they’d raised their heads, Coriander was smiling.

“I know a lot of you are used to a different face before you. One that kind of looks like mine, but older and scruffier,” she said, smirking her father. He grinned back. “But in order to gain the trust of the Arctic Wolves, should we need them in the future, it was decided last moon that I step forward as Alpha of Takodana. Together, with my mate, my father, Tionne and Dorsk, we have brought you here to help us in our fight against the First Order.” Coriander glanced at her mate and he nodded back. When she looked back over the crowd, her face felt like stone, hardening over with all the hate and resentment she could cull from her very soul.

“First Order has infiltrated this village. They have dishonored the memory of my mother Reyn Kenobi. They have attacked your leaders, and they attempted to assassinate the Golden Daughter of this village, Rey Kenobi. We will not let them continue their tyranny over us. Ovanis was a plea for help but they have used it against us in their goal to rule over us like dogs.”

Answering grunts of agreement rose from the crowd.

“We will not let them rest. We will hunt them down, we will gut them out, and raze their territory until there is nothing but ashes.”

There was one solid sound as their fists hit their chest.

“Are you with me?” She asked, her voice almost a whisper. She would not yell at them. Her father had taught her that.

The noise in the chamber pitched to a fever, fist hitting chests and voices howling in agreement.

Julien took a step forward as Coriander took a step back. He held up the map of the new battle strategy. “Shall we begin?”

Coriander crouched low to the ground and sniffed, trying to root out any foreign smells from the _olfa_ they’d erected to block out their scent. It was cold and a cloud of condense air fogged with her every breath.

“Gallius is with them,” she said as she stood, dusting her pants off. “We have to do this tonight and we have to do this right the first time. He will be distracted with Gilli’s death anniversary.” She inhaled a nice long breath, and exhaled, letting her anxiety go with it. They were going to be successful. Everything was going to be okay. They would protect Rey.

The _olfa_ stretched out in a green mist half circle around the First Order compound. The compound did a good job of blending into its environs—low and most of it underground, with the trees of the forest surrounding it like a green gate. Lookouts, camouflaged in the green canopy, jutted out between the trees. Lookout, indeed, but they hadn’t spotted yet.

Their problem would not be the gate or the sentry rotation in and out of the lookout stations. Those would be easy to overcome. Walls could be climbed, and sentries could be eliminated in silence. It was the elite fighting force within those walls. Although their numbers were low, the First Order were mercenaries by trade. Their skills outranked even Takodana’s best fighters. Luckily, Takodana had the entirety of Black Squadron behind them. It would be a good match—vicious, bloody, and not all of them would escape its violence unharmed.

Concentrating on the sentry rotation, Coriander listened intently for Tionne and Julien’s signals that they were in place. She hoped it was soon. The _olfa_ was strong but it couldn’t block out the scent of hundreds for very long. The moon was bright tonight, but the thicket covering them only allowed slivers of white pale diaphanous columns to cast down on them.

_We have darkness on our side, Cor_ ,” Spyce, her wolf commented from the recesses of her soul. _We have the advantage._

Spyce was right but still the nervousness kept coming back, cylindrical thoughts of what would happen if she failed tonight. War, outright War with First Order. And once Black Squadron’s existence is revealed, then, issue with Prae. Gungar may overlook this transgression, but not Holdo—she did not take kindly to being lied to.

The feeling of anxiety curled around her again so Coriander glanced up at the moon through the branches and closed her eyes for a moment. She wanted to, tried to reach out to Julien through their bond but…no.

_A distraction_ , Spyce said simply.

Yes. She remembered her vow not to be a distraction to him, but she couldn’t lie to herself. Julien was right; she wanted him by her side at that moment. They were brilliant when they fought side by side. More powerful, more in sync. Their shared energy was something to behold. Tonight, that chain was broken in an effort to be more tactical.

An eerie low howl caught her attention and her eyes flew open. _The signal_! Her fist clenched. They would be together soon enough.

“Drop the _olfa_.”

The Beta to her left smashed the urn and stomped out the embers of the _olfa_. Shortly after, the green mist dissipated. It would only be seconds before the next sentry rounded the corner. She focused on the one northeast of them. They would scent them first and hopefully draw attention to her contingent. Enough for the others to attack from behind. Coriander felt some behind her begin to shift—some shifted into their wolf forms, others shifted into Lycans. For her, she stayed in her human form.

She wanted to look into Gallius’s eyes when she killed him. Wanted her face to be the last thing he ever saw.

_Do it right the first time._

She would. For Rey. For her mother, Reyn. For her father, and her mate.

Coriander channeled all of her energy to her center.

“Attack!” Coriander’s guttural battlecry echoed over the canopy of trees as she leapt forward through the woods.

Rey stared at the ceiling, counting the striations and swirls and odd shapes on the wood.

“One thousand. One thousand and one. One thousand and two…”

She was sandwiched between a cotton and feather throw, with a stiff, but soft wool pallet underneath her, a “gift” that Finn had tossed at her as he’d climbed in bed and went to sleep. They tried sharing the bed, but their memories of snuggling up together while young posed a problem with two grown bodies in a bed made for one.

So, the floor

Rey had been at Salamander’s for seven days. She missed her bed, she missed her house, and she missed her family.

Finn was snoring quietly in the corner, a bare brown leg hanging over the edge of his bed. The fireplace in Finn’s room had hiked the temperature and she wondered how Finn could sleep. It was unbearably hot and there was no escaping the heat. She’d open a window but she didn’t want to hear Finn’s bitching about how severe temperature modulation led to sickness.

But maybe it wasn’t heat, and maybe it wasn’t the floor and maybe it wasn’t the fact she’d been here for a week. Something was buzzing under her skin, a crawling sensation that left her restless.

_Something is wrong._

Nothing for it, Rey sat up and shuffled back until she was leaning against the wall under the window. Above her head, bright beams from the Core’s moon shone through the panes of the window, casting Finn’s room in shades of milky pale white

_Tonight is the full moon._

Which, again, reminded her of how long she’d been here. Four days into her stay, a shifter she’d only seen a few times—at a meeting here and there—came barging into Salamander’s, making a beeline for Maz. A few heated whispers later and Maz was scrambling towards her supplies, snatching containers and jars of the shelf, her satchel full as she kissed both Finn and Rey on the forehead. Before either of them could get a word in edgewise, Maz was out the door, disappearing into the thick of Nymeve Forest.

Salamander’s was on the far side of town positioned like a large round rock between the forest and the flatlands that separated Takodana from Alderaan. Looking out west, you could see the silhouette of Revan and Bastila Shan’s statues, shrouded half by distance and the lingering fog that seemed ever present between the two villages.

It was always quiet, Maz’s one neighbor was a self-made shut in who didn’t care for anyone or anything other than his horse, so at night, it was a void of noise.

It was driving Rey crazy.

Sighing, she walked back to her pallet. There was nothing she could do about the silence, nothing she could do about the creeping sense of dread. She could only go to sleep. _Tomorrow will be here before you know it._

She settled under the covers, turned on her side, and breathed deeply. Just breathe deeply. After a long moment, her eyes began to obey her command, slipping further and further closed when—

_“Gallius! Let him go! It’s me you want!”_

Rey’s eyes flew open. _That was Coriander’s voice._ Her gaze danced around the room, looking for the towering silhouette of her sister. Nothing, just the shadows of the room creeping closer and closer to her as the moon above shifted. The candleclock in the corner showed an hour had passed, and Rey willed her thundering heart to relax. It was just a dream.

_You did not hear anything_ , she thought, chiding herself. To distract herself, she hummed the one lullaby she remembered her father ever singing to her, imagining his smooth tenor layered over the upcoming bliss of sleep.

_Sing, says the wolf, says the wolf, sing sweetly_

_For everything is alright_

_Sing, says the wolf, says the wolf, sing sweetly_

_As I kiss my little love goodnight..._

_“It’s okay. It’s okay, my tashflower. It won’t hurt me much longer. I’m okay.”_

_“Father, no!”_

Rey shuddered, trembled under the safety of her cotton shelter, refusing to open her eyes. No. No. There was little doubt in Rey’s sleep clouded mind that it was playing tricks on her, a delusion brought on by newfound somnolence. It was impossible that she heard Coriander’s voice. It was impossible she’d heard her father’s. She would not open her eyes. She would go to sleep and leave these hallucinations where they stood, in the shadows of absurdity.

_“Coriander! Watch out! The archers!—"_

Rey shot up. That was Julien’s voice. _There was no way._ Echoes of her father’s and sister’s voice, yes—loneliness, longing to be with them. But Julien…as much as she cared about him, he wouldn’t conjure _this_. _It doesn’t make sense!_ Yet, Rey couldn’t drum up enough reasonability to ignore such impossibilities. She didn’t care if she’d be scolded for her actions.

She didn’t care, she didn’t care, she didn’t….

Rey was at Finn’s bedside in the space between heartbeats, half slipping on her covers. “Finn,” she hissed, shaking him. Half sleep, Finn shoved her off and rolled over, muttering something about frankincense but that didn’t deter Rey.

“Finn, please!” she pleased, before sinking her hands in his nightshirt and yanking him to sitting. Finn shoved him off and rolled over but that didn’t deter Rey.

“Wha—" Finn looked around, blinking and confused, before ire rolled over his face like a storm. “What in the hell, Rey! What do you want? I am sleep!”

“Something is wrong,” she whispered, sounding delusional and haunted, even to herself. “…with my family. I have to go back home.”

Finn groaned, falling back into his covers, his faint scent of spices fluttering into the air like wind swept dandelions. “Go back to sleep,” he muttered. “You were probably dreaming…like _I_ was before you woke me.”

“I wasn’t dreaming! I swear it on the grave of Vaner! I can feel it, deep in my chest. My stomach is rolling like I’m going to throw up!” By the time Rey was done, her voice had pitched into a frenzy diatribe, screeching hysterics that strained her voice, and Finn started to look rightfully concerned.

“Okay, Peanut. Okay,” Finn said as he rubbed Rey’s arms up and down. “What do you want to do?”

Rey shook her head. “I don’t know. I just know I have to go. _Now_.”

It took a half an hour to travel the few miles between Finn’s house and Rey’s. They’d taken ever shortcut they could find, every one they’d memorized in their youths, cutting through the outskirts of Nymeve, down the Tear Path—the course Mandalore set when they came to attack Takodana after laying Endor to waste, and even Wosher’s farm that was completely off limits to wolf shifters. What they found when they got there only aggravated Rey’s fears.

A crescent of people stood outside of her house, and it was much, much too late for this sort of fanfare. Takodanians only gathered like this when something was truly, truly wrong. Rey grit her teeth and she and Finn fought through the throng without apology so she could get to her own front door. The first person Rey spotted was Tionne. She was stripped down to just her pants and her breast binding, a long gash across her chest making a shirt impossible. Brakiss was beside her watching a healer out of the corner thread a needle to close up a cut along his cheek. A chunk of his blond hair seemed to have been…ripped out, at the root, his scalp ruddy and spotted with blood.

Rey rushed to Tionne, her face drawn with pain, but her luminous eyes alight with rage. She’d sparred with this woman more times than she’d could remember, and she knew what fury on her looked like—all encompassing, the sort of anger that could and would raze the earth. However, the moment Rey slid to a stop in front of her, the rage melted away, replaced by a myriad of emotions—confusion, then realization, then shock.

There were loud shouts coming from inside of her house. Rey, alarmed, turned towards it but Tionne placed a firm hand on her shoulder. She stood, her white-grey hair falling over bloodshot eyes. “What are you doing here?”

Rey shrugged her hand off, her eyes locked towards her front door. Tionne smoothly stepped in between her and the entrance, her cool eyes sharp and focused on only her. Rey didn’t care if Tionne fussed at her. “What _happened_ to you?”

Tionne’s mouth pinched into a hard line, choosing silence as an answer and Rey wished she could get to her staff inside, but she really wanted to use it on the older woman. 

“Where is my sister?” Rey demanded when Tionne kept silent. Behind her Brakiss looked away. “Where’s Julien? Where’s my Father?” she yelled. There was a sudden cessation of commotion inside before Rey heard the approach of heavy footsteps, a cadence she knew well. A white head of hair came to the front door, looking out over the crowd, and the look of shock mirrored on Julien’s face as he glanced down to find Rey.

“Rey?” Julien croaked. His shirt was drenched with blood, his handsome face, pale and drawn and wet with tears.

Julien looked like he wanted to say something. He looked like _something_ was weighing so heavy on his heart that the words would spill out of his mouth if Rey stood here long enough. And Rey was never that good with waiting, she wasn’t patient, she wasn’t as empathetic or observant as she needed to be. But she would wait. Right here, on her porch until she got her answers. She needed to know who was screaming, why those screams sounded like Coriander’s. She needed to know why Julien, who hadn’t even cried at his own mating ceremony, looked like he was moments from collapsing with sorrow. She wanted to know about the blood.

She wanted someone… _anyone_ to tell him _something_ so the horrible, horrible thoughts in her head would just go away.

Instead, Julien turned to Brakiss. “Take her. She—she can’t be here right now.” Julien’s command was weary and depleted. He sounded so hollow. But more than that, his words confused her.

“Take her…away?” Rey parroted, her, her brow furrowed and her mind blank with implication? “Take me away from what?” She was _needed_ here. And she needed to know! Yet, before she could tell them that, make them understand that, as a part of this family it was her duty to help in times like these, Brakiss was shouldering pass Tionne to scoop Rey over his shoulder. Some of the townspeople gasped, but Rey could give a damn about them right now.

“Put me down!” Rey screamed, thrashing in Brakiss’s arms. “That is my home, Brak! My home! My family! You’ve got no right! Let me go!”

She kicked and screamed and screamed and kicked, beating against his back, hoping that someone would just hear her, understand her, but the townspeople cleared a path for Brakiss, Tionne following swiftly behind. They crossed a street, one she knew would lead to the market, before ducking behind a house—Tionne’s house—Brakiss carrying Rey as if she weighed _nothing_. 

“The shed,” Tionne whispered, and soon Brakiss was swinging open the door of the storage shed behind Tionne’s house. Rey was placed down gently, but Brakiss’s hands were steel vises around her arms. Very well. She hated to do this but she raised her foot, ready to kick his teeth in. It was Tionne’s cold hand on her shoulder that made her hesitate.

“Rey, listen to me,” Tionee said, her voice endued with the same authority, but sweet kindness she used after Rey lost a sparring session. “You have to hide here. You cannot be seen right now.

Rey huffed in anger, the heated breaths from her mouth disturbed her bangs, the short airs fluttering across her forehead. “And why not?” she growled. “Where is my family?”

“I’m not authorized to tell you.”

Rey’s jaw clenched. “I am the Golden Daughter of this village! The sister to the Alpha of Takodana,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “I am _giving_ you the authorization!”

Brakiss rolled his eyes, but Tionne actually looked troubled by this, and for a moment, Rey thought she’d broken through to her utmost sense of loyalty. A fool’s folly because Tionne’s set her jaw and pressed her lips together. “I cannot.”

This time Rey’s growl was weighted with true anger.

However, Tionne looked lost to her own thoughts. “You were supposed to be at Salamander’s. We should have posted guards there,” she muttered to herself. “I’ve failed you. I’ve failed you all.”

“Why won’t you tell me what is going on?”

Tionne ignored her, instead began shuffling around her storage shed, reaching behind a barrel of starch to pull out a length of stiff flax fabric. She balled it up and more or less shoved it under Rey’s butt. “There is going to be a guard outside of this door for the time being. If you hear anything, _anything_ that sounds strange, call for her. She’ll be there in a flash. I have to get back to your family. Please don’t try to leave.”

“Tionne! Wait! Please! Tell me!”

But she and Brakiss were gone. Rey rushed at the door, throwing her shoulder into it for leverage, but it would not budge. She was beyond livid, wanting to rip her head back and scream, shout that they couldn’t keep this from her—she was an adult! They had no right, no right at all to treat her like a child!

But the fear, so uncommon in Tionne’s eyes, stopped her. Something was going on, something big and terrible and she slid to the floor, suddenly out of the energy to fight. Fear, rancid and dark, swirled violently in her stomach and Rey gagged, only managing to stop herself from vomiting by taking a seat, closing her eyes, and meditating.

Tionne wouldn’t steer her wrong.

She would wait.

She just wanted the terrible feeling to go away.

Finn stood in the Kenobi’s living room, his hands shaking, his feet suck to the ground as if roots were wrapped around his ankles as he watched his mother work.

Strewn over the floor were thick strips of cotton stained crimson, rose petals of blood blossoming over that which used to be white. He knew—he’d scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed those very same strips, soaking them in the antiseptic concoction that sat in a huge vat in his mother’s lab. Now…

At her feet were a set of pewter and white clay basins, a muddy pink water swirling around Right at his mother’s fingertips were a row of medical instruments, most covered with a reddish residue that could only be on thing. The salve that Finn had smelled as his mother rushed out the house was strong here, stretching to every corner of the house—the stench of burnt walnuts, tamanu oil, and rich fruity scent of sea buckthorn. In small doses, it helped with scarring and cuts and scrapes. When combined with powdered yarrow, it was used for heavy bleeding.

Finn felt a sob slip between his lips and his hands flew over his mouth, praying no one heard him. He couldn’t stop crying. _Maker_ , he wanted to but he couldn’t, and tears rushed down his face in hot streams.

Someone slipped past him, Dorsk, squatting down at Maz’s side and placing a hand on her shoulder.

“There’s nothing else you can do, Maz. Come…let me wash your hands. Please, you're going to make yourself sick.”

Finn had never seen his mother cry before. Not once. Not when Han showed up at their doorstep, dragging an inebriated Chewie behind him, his feeble way to deal with the horrible argument he and Maz had before he stormed out. Not when Finn ran away and got lost in the forest for two days. Not when she’d held Rey’s body, feverish and on the verge of death. Not once. But as Dorsk picked his mother’s crumpled form from the floor, and Maz, did Finn see his mother cry for the first time.

He understood his tears, more than he understood his own. His mother couldn’t save her friend. She couldn’t save the Alpha leader of their village.

The place where Maz had stood vigil laid two cots—on one, the body of Brenton Kenboi, and the other, his daughter, Coriander. The wound just below Brenton’s heart was clean, as if someone had delicately and decidedly painted it on his chest. From here, it didn’t look fatal—it was so thin. But Brenton was dead and no amount of disbelief would change that. 

Coriander—he’d heard Tionne whispering this to Brakiss and Streen—had been brought in alive, gasping as air leaked in and out of chest wounds left from a litany of arrows.

Finn had walked right after Siwon had dragged Rey away, just as his mother was pitching a last effort to say their Alpha. Finn had watched over his mother’s shoulder as Maz tended to Coriander’s wounds, stitching and repairing what she could, and what she couldn’t, stuffing with yarrow, hoping to staunch the bleeding.

It wasn’t enough and one person knew that. Without a word, Julien laid his hands on Coriander’s chest and opened their bond, pushing their connection to the very limit, flooding the room, and her, with pure life energy in an attempt lessen her pain, to take some of the pain on himself, to help her body heal. As he grew weaker, he collapsed, but still, he hugged her to his chest, drenching his own shirt in her blood. When Coriander realized what he was doing, she shoved him away, screaming his name so loudly, so plaintively, that the entire house shook, and everyone had to cover their ears. At her command, it had taken Streen and two others to drag Julien away and force him to close the bond to prevent him from draining his life energy. Because it was useless.

As she lay dying, she made Tionne promise to find Gallius and kill him with a blood vow scribbled in slow painful strokes on the older woman's palm. Delirious, she called for her father, raspy breaths that washed over her lips in bloody bubbles.

_“Protect Rey. Please.”_ Coriander, Alpha of Takodana’s last wish. Her last command.

Tionne reentered the house, her face ashen as Beaumont Kin, a distant cousin of Brenton, pulled a white sheet over Brenton and Coriander’s bodies. Tionne avoided looking at the display of reverence and instead marched up to Finn, placing a hand on his shoulder, and looking down at him with an exhaustion Finn couldn’t imagine. 

“I’m sure you’re very confused right now,” Tionne said, her voice cracking.

Finn’s bottom lip trembled, but this time, he fought it. _Fought it_ because he was the ranking wolf of his house and he couldn’t cry, wasn’t supposed to cry. The last thing he wanted was for his mother to see his tears. He had to be strong for her, who was now bent over a pail of water, sobbing as Dorsk washed the blood from her hands

Instead he nodded, letting the one emotion he could show, reveal itself.

“The…First Order they—” she paused to take a deep breath, her hand rubbing near the wound on her chest. “They murdered Coriander tonight. They murdered Brendon. And they were going to murder Rey. Blue Crescents killed Coriander. They killed Brenton. And they were planning to kill Rey.”

“She told me…about the attack in the woods last year,” Finn whispered.

Tionne gazed off, her head turned towards the door. “They were going to try again, in two weeks’ time but we found out. Brakiss and Dorsk did, anyways. So, we attacked before they could attack us. Coriander was brilliant—I’ve never seen her fight like that before. Her plan was brilliant. We…we were winning. We _won_. We really did. Imagine that. Us. Takodana. But as we were gathering those left to stand trial, Gallius, Rey’s uncle, and his right hand, Bazine, broke free. We raced after him, me, Coriander, Brenton, and Julien but… it was a trap. I don’t know what happened. Gallius attacked Brenton from behind and ran like a snake, Brenton’s blood all over him. Coriander was trying to pull him to safety when—” She paused and rubbed her eyes as if she might cry. “They shot her down.”

Tionne screwed her eyes shut and pressed the heel of her hand to her temple. “I am only telling you this because I need you. Rumors will spread, lies will be told, but only you can tell Rey the truth. You’re the only one. She needs to know because tomorrow, they are going to raise her up as Alpha of Takodana. And she’ll need someone by her side who understands.”

Finn felt his stomach drop and crash.

“Can you do it?”

It was unseasonably cold outside, colder than he remembered on the dash back to Rey’s house. The full moon shone above, highlighting his path toward the back of Tionne’s humble house, searching for the storage shed.

It was hard finding it, even though he knew where the shed was. His stomach roiled, quivered with each step. He was going to be sick and he was so, so scared. The only thing stopping him from turning and running, and running, and _running_ until he was back home was that he knew Tionne was right.

Rey deserved to know.

And it was his duty to tell her. Because that’s what friends did.

Slowly, he made his way to the back of her house, pushing the image of Brenton and Coriander out of his mind with a determination borne of necessity. He couldn’t do this, not say what he needed to say with the images of their body lingering in his head.

There was a constant buzz, a murmur of townspeople who were still holding vigil outside of Rey’s house. Someone had called Aser, the undertaker. He was probably inside, preparing to transfer the—no. Finn wouldn’t think about it.

There was the high tinny sound of an Agogô. That meant Tance Monjo, a Delphi acolyte that served between Takodana and Endor, had arrived to pray over the bodies. That, _that_ , made it all so much final and for a faint moment Finn was glad that he was going to be distracted. It was the worst sort of distraction he could think of, but he’d rather be here with Rey than….

Before he knew it, he was standing in front of the shed. When the guard, a young woman who looked so exhausted—she was practically leaning on her sword—saw him, she silently moved to the side and opened the door. As if she were expecting him.

The moment Finn closed the door behind him, Rey rushed across the room, throwing her arms around his shoulders, her grip so tight it almost hurt.

“Finn! Finn, you’re here! I was _so_ scared! They aren’t telling me anything and no one has come to get me and—Finn? Finn, what’s wrong?

Finn _couldn’t_ help it. He started to cry, his body sagging against Rey’s and he threw his arms around Rey’s middle, squeezing out all the grief he could manage.

Rey stiffened, her arms dropping to her sides. “What’s wrong? You’re scaring me.”

“It’s—it’s…” Finn tried to concentrate, tried to force it out, to be brave for her, but he felt his body was locking up. He inhaled, a breath too large for how small he felt. “It’s your father…and your sister.”

Rey’s warmth left him as she took him by the shoulders and held him away from her. “What,” she said in a voice that was unreasonably and eerily calm. “What happened?’

Finn tried to look away, but Rey squeezed, and Finn froze. “Look at me Finn.” He did. “Tell me what you mean. Where is my father? Where is my sister?”

“They are—"

Rey smiled, faintly, as if she wasn’t expecting any kind of bad news. “It’s _okay_. You can tell me.”

“I can’t…I can’t!”

Her smile melted down the sides of her face, and was replaced by fury, red as coals. She jerked Finn once, hard. “Tell me,” she growled.

“They’re gone, Rey,” Finn said through a choked sob. “They are gone.”

Rey was silent for a moment, a stone statue of disbelief before she started to…started to laugh. “Finn,” she wheezed. “It’s not a time to joke around! My father is the smartest, most fearsome shifter in this clan. My sister is the strongest. There’s no way they are _gone_. Now, go back out there and find out what _really_ happened.”

“But Rey—"

The rage was quicksilver and deadly. “Get out of my face! Don’t come back until you’re ready to tell me the truth!”

“Rey, no!” Finn shouted as his friend shoved him towards the door. “Rey! Peanut, please! Listen to me!”

“Get out, Finn! Get out! Get out!” Rey shoved him one last time and Finn yelped as he slammed against the door on a downward descent towards the ground. Finn shoulder stung something fierce, but he knew Rey was hurting more than his shoulder ever could. Rey marched away, her head held high and her back rigid. No, no, no. Rey was shutting down, shutting him out, shutting everything out, and if she did that, he’d never—

“They are going to raise you Alpha leader tomorrow!” Finn yelled from the floor. That stopped Rey in her tracks. “Julien—he turned it down. He said it should go to Coriander’s heir. That’s _you_.”

Finn held out his hand. Clutched in his fingers was the heavy blood red triskelion seal Coriander used to sign her documents with. The only person who should, who could _ever_ have that, was Coriander…

Rey looked up slowly from the triskelion, like she’d never been prepared for such a thing, her eyes roving over Finn’s face. Finn wondered what she was looking for, but it didn’t matter, because whatever it was, she found it. He knew she understood he was not lying to her. 

Rey’s knees buckled. “No.”

Rey’s knees hit the dirt floor with a painful thud, and her arms snaked around her middle, her fingers, twisted and curved like claws. “No…No! NO!”

Finn watched, shocked, as a deep red began to seep into Rey’s irises. He held his hand out, confused, concerned. “Rey?”

“No,” Rey whined over and over again, her voice growing deeper and darker with every word uttered. “Kira, no…”

Finn frowned. “Who’s Kira?”

Suddenly, Rey ripped her head back and Finn scrambled back, _terrified_. Rey’s canine began to slip passed lips dripping with foamy saliva. Her eyes flashed a deeper, _sanguis_ red, then morphed into a goldish red haze. Sunset and blood oranges. Rey stood to her full height, the sorrow etched across her face like it was another feature, but rage, fire hot anger, coexisted with the pain, contorting Rey’s face into one Finn couldn’t recognize.

Finn took a step forward, scared for himself, yes, but more scared for his friend. He’d never seen her like this. Ever. “Rey, please. What’s wrong?” He reached for her and she shrank away, recoiled, flinching.

“Run…”

Finn’s brows furrowed. “What?”

“Run!” she roared. “ **GET AWAY FROM ME! RUN!** ”

Finn’s mind slammed into him, and he instantly understood what was happening. He scrambled out of the shed, tripping over things as he tried to get out. He slammed the door behind him. The guard, standing away from the shed to give them privacy, ran over. 

“What—" she asked.

“Kira,” Finn whispered. It was the name of Rey’s wolf—he understood that now. “Rey lost control of her wolf.”

The guard’s eyes widened in shock and she rushed to shove the wooden latched closed. She did it just in time as Rey’s roar resounded inside of the shed. Scant moments later, she was slamming against the door, rocking the entire shed.

“Sta—stay here I’m going to go get Tionne!” the guard yelled as she took off.

Finn stood on one side of the door, watching the door thump and shake and rattle as Rey continued to slam her body into it over, and over, and over again. Had she’d known her wolf, Kira, and Kira known her, the shed would have been ripped apart. But…as it was now, they were both weak, Kira, almost feeble. The fear drained from him the more he listened. Listened as the roars and growls broke down into sobs and whimpers. Finn slid down the grass and placed his hand up against the door.

“Rey,” Finn whispered. The door vibrated violently under his hand. “I’m so sorry.”

Dust rained down on his head as Rey ran into the door again. “I’m _so_ sorry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, and BREAK!


	9. prospectus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are ALMOST to the chapter I absolutely LOVED writing, oh my god. Ben and his wolf, I swear to God. 
> 
> So talking with you guys is super fun. Because you guys asks some really interesting and challenging questions, which in turn challenge me. So I love you guys! Most prevalent is why Rey acts the way she acts (which we kind of discovered last chapter) and enjoy talking about why Rey is such a complex character in anything I write. Ben/Kylo complexity is taken for granted because he is just COMPLEX, but Rey deals with these situations she is thrown in, how her environment (people, places, things) have molded her in such a confoundingly delightful way. The fact that Rey exhibits all of these Alphan characteristics AND has been able to get away with it most of her life just goes to show you that she is smart, intelligent, a HUSTLER, and a survivor. 
> 
> Oh my god. A Rey love story on _International Women's Day!_ YES!
> 
> Anyhoot, as mentioned this a story with many moving parts that make the third act work. If you have ANY questions about the whirlwind I'm taking you on, ask here, or on my Twitter (@BlackNerdJade). I'm...all over the place on that thing but one thing I will do is stop everything I'm doing to talk #Reylo!

_“Yes.” And Bazine’s voice dropped to a deadly whisper. “A smile of the red variety.”_

The sort of anger that welled up in Ben’s chest wasn’t normal. It was feral, a mackle of red and black spots dancing in his vision. The kind of anger he only allowed himself to feel when it was absolutely necessary and that was pushing it. He wasn’t losing control—because if his anger at the moment wasn’t normal, then Kylo’s would be calamitous—but the fury eased itself in front of his senses, and fed his instinct.

Someone had to pay for the gall, for the clamor, and most of all, for the disrespect.

One moment he was sitting—not peacefully, not at ease, tensed, ready to strike, but holding steady—and the next, he had his ceremonial blade at this Bazine woman’s neck. Screams echoed inside of the Great Assembly Room, surprise and fear bouncing off stone walls, an echoing symphonic accompaniment to Ben’s rage.

Kylo, roused by the darkness swirling in Ben’s chest, crept along Ben’s mind, pressing a hand at the door that kept Ben’s consciousness at the forefront. He couldn’t get through, no, but he could press and he could pry, and push and try. And when that undoubtedly failed, he could still volley his discontent across the fibrous webs that tethered them together. Hot sticky tendrils of deadly intent crept along Ben’s neck, to his ear, seeping into his mind, where the wolf whispered things, _screamed_ them— _kill her! Protect your mate!—_ and Ben would be _more_ than happy to honor it. The wild, innate need to eliminate Rey’s enemies burned through him like wildfire.

One hand squeezed around the hilt of the knife, but it was his other hand, the one still grasped in Rey’s, her aura steady like a still lake, that kept him from offering Bazine the same threat he’d offered Rey Kenobi.

The silent transference of her fleeting tranquility was enough for him to get his bearings but did nothing to keep the others from reacting. As Ben answered the threat, so did they, each at the table shooting to their feet, each reaching for a weapon. Paige was the quickest, appearing at Rey's side as if she’d been made of smoke and wind and dogged loyalty.

There was a clear, crystalline ringing through the air and the solid thud of feet as Poe hopped onto the surface of the banquet table, his eighth sword, BeeBee, clutched in his hands, the sharp point hovering near Bazine’s carotid. “I don’t consider myself a poet,” he said, “however I can make your death a song they sing and spit about for centuries if you try me.”

“I’m sure,” Bazine drawled. Poe bared his teeth at her, and that seemed to amuse her. Her eyes flicked over to Ben then back to the blade pressed against her throat, chuckling.

“It’s no secret that the Mandalorians,” and she shot Poe a look, “are nothing but savage beast but you? You should know better, young Prince of Alderaan. I’ve eaten your food. I’ve entertained your guests. And you threaten to kill me at the very table I labored before? Bad form,” she chastised.

“I’m considering adding a stanza about the sound someone makes when flayed,” Poe seethed.

Before Bazine could offer Poe a retort, scathing or not, the Imperial Fortress guards snapped into place, falling into a tight semicircle formation around the intruder, blades pointed at her back, and with Poe’s at her neck, she had nowhere to go. pointed blades at her back, the same at Poe’s at her neck. While the front guard accosted Bazine, the rest filled the Assembly Room, barricading the exits in layers of dented silver and burnish gold armor, and lined the balconies that dotted the walls above the great chamber like the curved scales of a _krayt_ dragon.

Even in his agitation, Ben gave his Great Assembly Room thorough and methodical appraisal, gratified with how well trained the guards—and even the servants, who had all dropped into varying defenses stances, reaching for weapons he was unaware they had—were. Not as quick as he wanted, though—Kuruk, his new Guard Master, would fix that for him. His attention returned to Bazine, but he stared straight ahead, deigning her any respect. “Understand this,” Ben uttered, lowly. “When I decide to kill you— _when_ —trust and believe it would not be as…civil…as this. Count yourself as fortunate.”

Ben yanked the knife from the soft skin of Bazine’s throat quick as a flash and then slammed it into the rich wood, the blade pinning her sleeve to the black tablecloth and the table underneath it.

“Take her away.”

His new Captain of the Imperial guard was Ap'lek, a lanky yet formidable Knight of Ren and his first choice when rattling off names to Finn. While Kuruk was a reasonable, yet deadly force to contend with, Ap’lek was…devious, crafty. Perfect for the job, really. Despite the severity of the situation, Ap’lek swaggered over to Bazine, long axe propped over his shoulder. Grinning, he poked her with the curved end of it.

“Knight takes rook…or whatever you are. Either way.” Ap’lek returned his axe to his shoulder and nodded towards a set of doors.

Bazine laughed at him like his words were a request. “All of this because I dare insult your great leader and his _bedmate_? Excess! And so soon into your rule!”

Finn jumped up from his seat, livid. “She is the Alpha Prime of Core and you will address her as such!”

“Oh, stars! You all are so _emotional_!” She heaved a sigh. “Fine, fine. I submit to whatever captivity you deem fit. Take me away!” she bellowed dramatically. She attempted to wave in the same direction Ap’lek had before, but she pulled up short. Her eyes jutted to her sleeve before giving Ben a pitiable look, although Ben could see her suppressed laughter. “Be kind, my lord. It seems my sleeve is not as excited to leave as I am!”

Ben’s mind produced the many ways he could kill her, at the top of the list was the use of his bare hands. Instead, he yanked her arm up and the sleeve tore, a jagged line reaching her shoulder.

Bazine frowned at the tatters of her shirt. “I understand that you’ve come across new fortunes and the value of a Lycan has diminished in your eyes, but that fabric was very expensive,” she muttered.

“You’ll live,” Ben growled. “Get her out here. Now.”

The Supreme Alpha whirled on his guests like the wolf he was, teeth bared. “Everyone out!” he roared. He reached for Rey and she let him pull her up, but not without taking one last sip of her wine. He guided her out of the room, a hand wrapped tight around her wrist, as if the thought of letting her go until he was absolutely sure she was out of danger was inconceivable. He could feel her eyes on the back of his head, but he had to get her out, out, out, _out_ , now.

“Well, so much for the festivities,” Hux scoffed from his seat as they passed.

As Ben stormed towards the doors that led to the outer corridors of the Great Assembly Room, the guards on post, still keyed up from the almost fight, scrambled to open the heavy doors, the large slabs of woods groaning on old hinges as Ben and Rey rushed through them. They quickly shut the doors in their wake, separating them from the muffled cacophony on the other side.

Ben remembered how he felt the night his mother left, his inability to protect her so great, that she had to leave him. This…feeling…was different, but just as strong. He was _barely_ holding on and the moment the doors closed behind him, Ben felt that fine filament of his composure _snap_. His hands were on her shoulders, pushing her back, back, until she was flush against the wall. Then his hands were on her, all over her, checking for injuries he knew did not exist. But…he couldn’t control it.

“You’re okay, you’re okay,” he muttered, tunnel focused and irrational. “You’re…not hurt.”

The fixation was…ridiculous. She was fine. She was _fine_. He knew she was but maybe that was the danger with imprinting. He knew, had empirical proof, but his mangled, infatuated brain imagined the worst, the very words out of Bazine’s mouth creating every harmful scenario he could think of, the visions flashing before his eyes like a nightmare.

_The scarlet edge of a knife, the slash of red across Rey’s throat, the heat seeping from her body as vivid emeralds dulled to unpolished stones, her skin pallid and grey, the life draining from her in rivulets of crimson._

Ben’s eyes flutter shut, and he surrendered to the impulse running hot within his soul, pulling Rey into him, holding her so tight he felt himself shaking.

The sudden movement displaced air, it shifting around them like fluttering starblossom petals, and Ben caught whiff of Rey’s scent. It was stronger here, near her neck, her pulse, his nose pressed against a gland just under the corner of her jaw. He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with it. His emotions… _moved_ , morphed, and a sense of calm draped over him like a warm winter shawl. He did it again, and again and…

“Just like that. Breathe…” That sounded like her voice, like the deep amber of honey layering over her accented cadence, and he’d know that if he had the capability of paying attention to anything other than her heartbeat in his chest. Her hands—were they her hands?—stroked the curtain of his black hair, like his mother would do when bad dreams would scare him awake. Eventually, her hands trailed down, his nape and neck, until they rested high on his back, her arms tucked under his. “Breathe, Ben.” He did as the voice commanded, and continued to inhale, transcending, not higher, but closer to the hard stone beneath his feet. Grounding.

Her scent had always been an enigma to Ben, ever since the first time he’d scented her—how she smelled like no other shifter he’d ever known. There was nothing to compare it to, her smell an autonomous entity that smelled like everything and nothing at all. It wasn’t the absolute void of scent of a Beta and maybe that’s what confused him the most. It was there…it just didn’t—

Another vision popped in his head, unbidden, of Rey happy and safe, warm in his arms, his lips against her nape, her mating glad, her hands on him, his body hot against hers. He envisioned the two of them standing before the world, enamored and in love, ruling together.

That was what broke him out of his stupor. A stupid, unimaginable vision. Yet, it was a good thing it did, because now that his attention had snapped back to reality, he realized he was clutching her like a newborn babe. He stuttered back a step, his escape momentarily hindered by her arms hooked under his, warm fingers splayed across his back, that detail lost in his need to put distance between them.

“I—” he paused and looked down at his hands. “I don’t know what got into me. I am sorry.”

“For?” she asked and Ben looked up, expecting horror on her face, and finding none. Her emotions fluttered from concern, to confusion, and then realization and she moved to take a step back but only succeeding in bumping into the wall. “It’s fine,” she said, her voice soft in assurance. “It’s okay.” She reached up and put a hand on his shoulder.

He wanted to push it off, so she didn’t feel how he was still trembling. Damn the Gods for this! He’d never felt more out of his realm than right now. “Do you feel better now?”

Ben cleared his throat, nodding, and straightened to his full height, realizing he was still hunched over and leaning towards her, like a mate offering his back to an enemy in order to spare them any harm.

“Who was that woman?” Ben asked, remembering why they were in the corridor to begin with. No sooner than the words left his mouth did he remember _where_ he was. Although he and Rey claimed ownership over the Imperial Fortress, they hadn’t the time to clear out the cobwebs of their previous owners. That meant loyalties that needed to be examined and reforged, potential spy networks that needed to be gutted, amongst other things.

So, instead of waiting for her to answer, he strode back to the doors to the Great Assembly Room. The doors opened without command, as if the guards were trained to hear and know the footsteps of their leaders. Inside, the room emptied in a slow, pitiable dribble, the aftermath of a good night ending far too early. Sometimes, most times, the people of court and their antics drove him up a wall. Here, his intended’s life was threatened, and they were _moping_.

_Stars take them all!_ Moping!

He spotted the other Alphas of Core talking amongst themselves, their Betas still on high alert. He approached the table, his heavy angry stomps catching the attention of Rose, Jaina and Toben. That couldn’t be said for Poe, who jumped as high as a lothcat when he turned and found Ben standing there, as if he magically appeared.

“ _Maker_ , Ben, you scared me!”

Ben ignored him with a roll of his eyes. “Jaina, Jacen” he barked. “Go to the holding cells. Magically seal the doors. Only Ap’lek and Kuruk are allowed entrance in and out for now. Rose, Siv, Toben, gather some of the guard and form a tight perimeter around The Dyad Pavilion. Not _a soul_ is permitted inside until I return. Kyp.”

The man’s head snapped to attention, his eyes trailing from the corner where the heir of the Eternal Empire stood, watching him back. “Yes, my leader?”

Ben almost smiled, although he didn’t know why. “I was going to assign you to some diplomacy with some of our more esteemed guests, but it seems you’ve already got a jump on it.”

Kyp grinned. “I can jump higher. Consider it done.”

“Good.” Without another word, Ben turned from them all and began stalking towards the exit where he’d left Rey for far too long. “Poe, Hux, Phasma, to me.”

Officially, Ben and Rey’s ownership of the Imperial Fortress had been no more than mere hours, but it wasn’t the first time he’d been inside the sprawling dwellings of Core’s fundamental center. He’d traveled through it enough times to not need a guide, despite how utterly confusing the place was constructed. There were no colored signs to catch your eye or arrows or even placards. You just had to know the place. That’s why it took almost a quarter hour to travel from the Great Assembly Room to his destination, traveling down long sets of steps, winding through the inner courtyard, his intended and his entourage on his heels.

There, nestled between the Room of a Thousand Fountains and The Chamber of Conclaves, and under the shade of the sprawling Great Tree, its roots buried underground, was the Imperial Core Archives Temple.

The Archives was one of the most important buildings in all of Core for reasons known and unknown. Of course, research—annually, scholars from the Five would make their journey here, seeking out the knowledge from the hundreds of thousands of books held inside its walls. It was said that every single document essential to Core was on the shelves or locked away in a vault.

As they approached the main doors, a eunuch came skittering out as two pages dressed in all red opened the doors.

Mitaka; the High Eunuch.

Of course, it wasn’t a decision Ben nor Rey had a hand in, much to his chagrin, a leftover not easily replaced because he knew every starblasted thing. _Ever_. And he’d taken great strides to prove that every kriffing council meeting they had, his favorite phrase being “Well, actually, that’s not true.” Mitaka was meddlesome and _nosey_ , took his position much too seriously, and was a gods-awful brown nose, all of this shrouded under the guise of meekness.

Mitaka jogged down the steps, sliding to a smooth stop in front of their entourage, and fumbling with the deep red hat—a sign of his role—on his head by tugging at a long piece of fabric at the back.

Poe, who liked harassing Mitaka as much as he liked harassing Hux, snorted a laugh when Mitaka over corrected and almost fell off the path. Ben, on the other hand, snarled at him.

“My esteemed Master Alpha, Mistress Alpha, Alphas of Core, uh, what—what brings you here at such an hour?” He fussed with his uniform, which led Ben to believe that Mitaka had been asleep, and had…sensed their arrival, rushing from his bed to greet them. It was beyond strange. The Archives weren’t a forge or temple that needed to be guarded at all times. It was a library. “I don’t have any sort of paperwork requesting access,” Mitaka said, his face lined with worry.

“Get out of my way,” Ben growled.

The eunuch did not move. A mistake. “But—"

“You are standing in our way, Takie Takie,” Poe gibed, which drew a comical stinkeye from Mitaka but other than that he still stayed put.

“My Lord,” he started, but squeaked and _finally_ hurried to the side and off the path when Ben’s lip did curl into a snarl. Rey made a disapproving noise in the back of her throat but just because she and Mitaka got on swell at their meetings didn’t mean that Mitaka wasn’t a sniveling bureaucratic Omegan weasel. Undeterred, Mitaka picked up the skirts of his long ruby red robe and scrambled to the other side of the path the party was now marching down, taking three steps for every one of Ben’s.

“I am in no way questioning your authority, Master Alpha.”

“It’s Supreme, Takie, not Master.

“I would never,” he continued, ignoring Poe. “Nor you, Mistress Rey. It’s just that after hour visits have to be…” he gulped, “authorized by…no…uh…signed—signed off….

Ben rounded on him. “Who, High Eunuch? Who, other than me, do you have to explain _anything_ to?”

Mitaka shrunk a little, his head dipping in his rush to show the deference he should have displayed the minute he greeted Ben. “N–no one sir.”

“As I thought. Considered it signed off, then. And make sure no one approaches the Orb of Heavenly Light Corridor.”

Mitaka pulled up short. “The–the Orb of Heavenly Light Corridor? Then you mean to enter the High Council Tower? My Lord Alpha!” he screeched, shocked. “That is the war council room!”

“Really,” Ben drawled. “And here I thought it was a mating chamber.” Ben ignored Mitaka’s feeble sputterings and continued to lead the way inside the expansive building. They passed shelves and shelves of books, scrolls, and scripts, each row marked with the golden bust of some dead important person of Core. Halfway up the second flight of steps, Ben could still hear Mitaka trailing after them, trading barbs with Poe and Hux. As they passed through the antechamber of the Council Room, Ben, at his wits ends, spun on the High Eunuch.

“Your presence is unnecessary,” Ben said as he bent forward, his face looming in front of Mitaka’s. “And whoever you plan on reporting to, let them know that from this day forward, me and intended and whoever else I chose, has unilateral access to every single corner of the Imperial Fortress. If _they_ have a problem with it, they are more than welcome to bring it to me.”

“My Lord Alpha, I only answer to you, and Mistress Rey. I would never—"

“Sure,” Ben said, cutting him off. “Have a great night.”

The High Eunuch opened his mouth to say something, gulping around words that just wouldn’t come and Ben stepped back and all but slammed the doors in his face. “Aggravating, vexatious little imp,” Ben muttered.

“He’s harmless, Ben,” Phasma offered from the rear of their entourage. “You shouldn’t needle him so much.”

“Yeah,” Poe added, chuckling. “It’s not _his_ fault he is just soooo much smarter than _everyone_.”

The High Council room was much like the rest of the Archives—old, dusty, drafty, large—but well maintained. Because their arrival was unannounced, the room was cold and dark, to which, maybe Mitaka had a point. Hux made himself busy by lighting the torch scones on the wall and no one bothered with the fireplace or taking a seat. It was if they all could tell the move to here wasn’t made for a lengthy discussion, but rather, secrecy.

“Explain,” Ben said to Rey once the door of the High Council room was shut and barred.

She’d been mostly silent for the confounding trip here, but it wasn’t as if she could have forgotten what had taken place at the feast, and ignore the implications of a threat on her life mere days into her rule. When he asked, her mouth pinched and her brow furrowed, like his question tasted sour in her mouth. But the one thing he’d learned quickly about Rey was her ability to recover, recouping the consequences of her expressions quick as lightning and slick as oil. Reading her was like reading Aurebesh translated by an illiterate Sith.

She tilted her chin up, but her gaze was distant, over his shoulder and lost to recollection. “They are from a clan just east of Takodana. Well, I should say they were.”

“Were?” Phasma asked.

“Yes. After my last run in with them, I considered the clan to be dead. They are…mercenaries, for hire and for sport. Animals with no honor. Our best bet is to kill Bazine and save ourselves the hassle.” Her gaze left the wall, and the green in her eyes had turned cold, thick and bitter. “I could do it. I could do it tonight,” Rey said.

That was _completely_ out of the question. “You will not,” Ben admonished, horrified, yet unwilling to show it.

Rey’s thin brow rose dangerously and in his chest, Ben could feel her rancor. “That woman just threatened to kill me in front of every clan and settlement I am supposed to lead over. If not for the threat, the total disregard of respect. I kill her and our problems are solved.”

For his part, Ben didn’t know a damn thing about Bazine and the last thing, the _last_ thing, he was going to do was unleash Rey’s resentment on the dungeons or let her anywhere close to that woman. Ben crossed his arms across his chest. “Yes! She was able to sneak into the Imperial Fortress and threaten your life and came within inches of doing so. You may have history with her, but it is unseen to me. She will be questioned and—”

She turned away from him, her hands clenched at her sides, shoulders set with a tense stubbornness that would rival a sand mule. And he knew just enough about her that he knew she might try anyways, and _that_ angered him. Not because it would endanger her life—it wouldn’t because he wouldn’t let it. It was the simple fact of trust.

She didn’t trust him yet.

And he didn’t trust her.

Something that couldn’t be addressed tonight even if he wanted to drag her obstinate ass into a chair and have it out. Instead, he turned to Hux. “We’ve detained the dancers that accompanied Bazine?”

Hux nodded. “Ap’lek was rounding them up as we made our leave.”

“Have him send one of the dancers to the holding cells with her. Send one of them to the holding blocks. Have Ap’lek pick the dancer who seems most eager to get him. The rest can go to the Room of a Thousand Fountains.”

Poe winced. “The custodian of that building is one of the meanest old ladies I’ve ever met in my _life_. She’ll ask you a question and then slap the taste out of your mouth for daring to talk anywhere near the Fountains.”

“Precisely. If they can’t talk, they can’t sync any of their stories up. I will be by in the morning to interrogate them.

“You? Personally?” Poe asked, his chin drawing in towards his chest.

“Who else?” Ben replied with an arched brow

Poe scratched the back of his head. “I don’t know. Maybe someone who isn’t going to summon every last ounce of battle magic they have to get an answer out of them because their mate was threatened?” Poe looked at Phasma. “Toben is pleasant.”

Phasma exhaled a breath of relief. “For a moment I thought you were going to suggest Siv. You still could if you wanted someone to terrify them worse than Ben ever could. That woman has a temper the gods have never witnessed.”

“Fine,” Ben bit out. “But I want a full debrief of what she finds in the morning. First thing. Wake me up if you must.”

“What about me?” Poe asked.

“Go find out who the fuck Mitaka is “reporting to” behind my back.”

To this Poe snorted, incredulous. It was a nigh impossible task but even the mere look of an internal inquiry might have the Imperial Archive eunuch attempting to at least appear loyal

After the other Alphas exited the room, his gaze finally landed on Rey. “You. Follow me.”

Snoke glanced at Gallius from the lush borders of Alderaan with extreme apprehension. Alderaan sat at the feet of a mountain range and was bordered by sprawling hills and waterways so crystalline clear that you could see to the bottom of them. Which is one reason Snoke had harbored some hate for the place. No place as…clean looking could produce the sort of soldiers he needed.

“If your plan doesn’t work,” he bleated, wondering for the hundredth time why he’d agreed to this, “I’m going to haunt you for the rest of your dogged life.”

Gallius rolled his eyes heavenward. “When have you known a plan of mine to fail?”

Snoke opened his mouth to give Gallius a long list of failures but Gallius held a hand up before he could.

“Do not answer that question.” Gallius dismounted his steed, a white and grey dappled warhorse, and stood at Snoke’s side, gazing over all that Alderaan offered. The older man noticed the small infirmus settlements sitting on the border’s edge like a sheared off blade. Snoke noticed them, too, for all he’d tried to avoid them and his face scrunched in distaste.

Life in Alderaan, despite its heavenly appearance, was hard. It was supposed to be hard, which is why he had never found himself fond or ever approving of the infirmus settlements. The rules of the clan were set in stone and those who could not weather it, those who added nothing of value, or worse, hindered Alderaan’s progress, were sent to away, mostly to provide labor where they’d failed to find purpose. Life wasn’t long at the infirmus settlements, however Snoke found the inhabitants looking quite better than the last time he’d been around, healthy even, fat and plump from regular feeds.

Ben’s doing most likely. _Disgusting_. In Snoke’s day, you fought to survive, you earned your keep and handouts were for the weak.

Snoke was pulled from his thoughts when Gallius jabbed him with an elbow, nodding up ahead.

“Here comes Brev.”

Snoke sighed as a tall fox shifter made his way up the last bit of the mountain pass towards them. Brev was…surreptitious, a man with a thousand faces and could not be trusted as far as he could be thrown. His allegiance changed with the exchange of money and Brev’s pockets clinked with the coins of many.

“Snoke! My stars! It’s been far too long!” Brev held open his lanky arms as if he were aiming to give Snoke a hug but was stopped short when Snoke all but punched him in his chest.

“You want to die?”

Brev smirked. “You should have learned long ago that your threats sound like love notes to me. But I’m glad you haven’t changed. You’ll need that… _tenacity_ if you want your son as Alpha.”

The word “son” caused Snoke to pull up short. His son. One half of the reason he was going along with this idiotic plan.

Dal Konur was the result of a wayward mating session with an Alderaan Omega during one of his drunken episodes and was conceived months before his mating with Leia. Leia, whose pretense of affection for him caused her to act out in jealousy, refused to welcome the bastard wolf into her house. But she wasn’t a monster, just overprotective of Ben who was a year or two older than Dal. She offered to let him live with a friend in Takodana where he could enter an apprenticeship. An alemaker. Snoke had sneered at it the suggestion. That was no profession for a pup of his. But he accepted it because he’d wanted Leia to be happy. Plus, Takodana was only a two day walk from Alderaan. Therefore, he could have both. A true child and his mate.

Years later, he received a letter from the alemaker’s daughter claiming she had no real way of getting in touch with Snoke since her father had died but was writing to relay the message that Dal Konur had abandoned living with her at the alehouse and had taken to the woods. Angered, Snoke made the three-day journey to find his son and after a week of looking, he finally located him living in the woods between Takodana and First Order territory. That day was the last day he’d seen his son alive.

Bazine had confidently corrected his assumptions, going as far as to tell him that Dal Konur lived by finding his way onto First Order lands. What she never disclosed was how he’d survived all these years. As a pawn, yes, but alive.

“How is this supposed to work?” he asked as Brev and Gallius began to speak quietly amongst themselves. He didn’t like that. He regretted having to leave Ma’ab and Ruqayyah at the inn where they were staying. He wanted someone he could trust at his side because it damn sure wasn’t either of them.

“The Supreme Alpha and Alpha Prime have officially taken ownership of the Imperial Fortress, which gives their clans each a vacant seat. Both have begun their own selection processes,” Brev explained. “Unofficially, it is highly expected of the other Alphas of Core to join Ben and Rey Kenobi’s pack, which will extend the selection process to the other three clans.” Brev turned them away from the northern gate and began to lead them around the width of it.

“Alderaan is moving fast in their selection process, which is where we are headed. The first meeting is set to begin tonight, hour of the dog. It’s then where they will begin the name pitching ceremony.”

“I know all of this already,” Snoke said, yawning.

“How good of you to have remembered the customs of the clan you betrayed,” Brev said over his shoulder as they approached a door and Snoke decided right then and there that maybe he wouldn’t wait until this plan was deemed a failure. He could drag Brev around the corner and strangle him.

“Gallius, since Snoke is a historian all of a sudden, with our pitching ceremony, all eligible shifters’ names are thrown into a crimson basket. Like a tournament, shifter after shifter will be eliminated until we have a Silver Champion. If there is a standing Alpha, the Silver Champion will fight the Alpha for his position.”

Gallius grimaced. “That’s your selection process?” he asked, lip hitched. “Ridiculous.”

“I find myself agreeing with you, but you don’t beat tradition. It beats you.” Brev knocked on the door he’d led them to, and shortly after a guard opened the door, staring at them warily. Brev smiled and slipped a few silver Lycans in his hands. The guard pocketed the money and stood back, allowing them deeper into the building.

“We will hide amongst the general populace in the main hall, where you will pitch Dal’s name. Since his name is unfamiliar, you, the pitching member, will have to prove his eligibility. It would be wise for you to elaborate your relationship to the Supreme Alpha. He would not be where he is without you.”

Snoke agreed with a grunt. He took a moment to look around, his first time entering into Alderaan in _years_ , and although it left a bitter taste in his mouth, home was home and it was a sight for sore eyes.

He wondered what he could expect this time around.

A few hours later they were standing in the main hall surrounded by the people of Alderaan, Gallius and Snoke hidden away under heavy cowls. The people were loud and rowdy, good natured and the pang of nostalgia in Snoke’s chest was amplified by how the lack of presence of others was in his life. He loved Alderaan, had wanted to make it better, in his image. These sounds made him feel at home. These sounds motivated him. If Ben couldn’t garner him control of this clan, Dal could.

At the hour of the dog, as Brev had said, the doors of the hall opened and the leadership council of Alderaan walked in. He could tell so the sword engulfed in the the fires of Aldera hovering over mountains. Snoke didn’t recognize any of the faces, none were Han’s council, nor were there any that he’d installed behind the Alpha’s back. Understandable. Ben was shrewd, almost as untrusting as Snoke was, and would have chosen his own staff from those he knew. Which was…concerning. This council would be loyal to Ben’s ethos, accustomed to Ben’s politics, uplifted by Ben’s causes. Having their former Alpha’s so called traitorous abusive father parading yet another son with a vie for the top spot might not go over well.

Nonetheless, he had to try. What’s the worst that could happen? Him dying? He’d been prepared for death since the day he led his army down the slopes of Alderaan’s mountains, rushing through the border gates to revolt.

Death was only the next path in life.

Following the leadership coterie was the moment Snoke was waiting for. All the shifters who anticipated their names being pitched rolled in as one large mass of men and women, all wearing blue like their leaders. They approached and stood facing the crowd. Snoke spotted Dal Konur instantly and a weight on his heart lifted. No one could miss his blinding white hair or his piercing black eyes, the unique coloring of his mother, Atris. The only thing Dal Konur had inherited from him was his stubborn personality and his height, exhibited as he stood a head taller than some of the other shifters.

A bell rung and wooden plaques with names carved into them began flying through the air.

Just as expected, leadership worked through the names, throwing those they found unworthy out. Families were called forth to defend a name every so often, but it went without too many problems. Until, a particular wooden plaque was drawn.

An elder, old and wrinkled, his posture stooped and bent, stood with the help of a young page. His rheumy eyes read over the name on the plaque over and over before he looked over the pool of shifters.

“Dal..Konur? ”

Snoke heard his son’s birth name ring out over the hall and he went still.

As if he’d expected it, Dal Konur took two steps forward and turned around. “I am Dal Konur.”

The elder narrowed his eyes at the young man before him. “Why have I never seen your face before, child?”

“I have, for all of my life, lived outside of this village. I’ve always wanted to come home and I saw this as an opportunity to do so.”

The elder sat down, slowly, and looked over the crowd. “Who pitched this child’s name?” he croaked.

Snoke inhaled and prepared for either victory or for death. He took a step out of the crowd, ducked under the blue rope keeping them back and walked to stand by his son’s side. “I pitched this child’s name.”

“And you are?”

Snoke grabbed the edge of his cowl. “I am the father of this child; my blood runs through his body as does the blood of the Aldera Wolf.” Snoke pushed the cowl back and revealed his face. He heard gasps from the crowd and resisted the urge to smile.

“I am Snoke.”

Ben left the High Council room and instead of heading towards the stairs, he took a hard left, keeping his hand on the wall so he could feel for the markers—uneven bricks that felt smooth—so he knew he was going the right way.

“The exit is that way,” she asked tersely, some of the ire still in her voice, although it sounded more petulant than angry.

“I know,” he replied quietly. They made a series of dizzying turns, heading left, turning a corner, only to march back right, a purposeful construction rendered so to make unworthy ones lose their way.

They continued doing this, turning and stopping and reversing as Ben tried to remember every direction he was supposed to take, until reached a long stoned wall that bisected the path, not allowing them to go any further.

“Are we lost?” Rey asked. She turned, her skirts rustling and for a moment, Ben worried about her feet. But then he remembered she liked to wear trousers under her dresses and most often, boots.

“We are not,” he answered as he stared at the wall in front of them. The very sight of the wall brought back a flood of memories. So beautiful, some bittersweet.

“When I was a child, my mother and I were allowed to come to the Archives to deposit some important documents she’d carried with her from Dothamir years. She’d hidden them from her mate.”

“What were they?” She was leaning against the wall, a hand rubbing the other, cold, even with all her layers on. Green eyes flicked to his. “Or can you tell me?”

“Birth documents,” he admitted. “For each of our births, my mother was required to travel back to Dathomir. For reasons I have not figured out, Han Solo arranged her travels and was her companion instead of Snoke. Maybe…maybe Snoke knew. Maybe there were things he cared about more. The documents…drafted and authenticated by the Shelish, their Clan Mother, showed that Han Solo was the father of all of Leia’s children.”

There wasn’t much surprise on Rey’s face. Considering the secret was no longer a secret, revealed the night that Snoke was exiled, he expected this. What he didn’t expect was the lack of judgement on her face. Easy acceptance of his family’s troubles—some of which he still had issues accepting.

“I was…nine? Still believing I was of someone else, when Han brought me and my mother here. I didn’t know why at the time; I was too young to understand what the gesture meant but he showed us something. Now, that I have…” you “…something to protect, I understand.”

Ben placed a hand on the stone wall, fingers walking up and down the rough surface, up and down, up and down, until he found the hitch he was searching for in between some cracked grouting. He withdrew his knife, the same one that had been pressed up against Bazine’s neck, and pressed against the sooty black plaster until it gave way. There was a loud _thunking_ sound. He took a step back as a section of the wall began to swing towards them.

When it was completely open, it revealed nothing but darkness. Rey unhooked one of the torches and lit the tar dipped scones along the wall, revealing another hallway, a gradient of dark greys feathering from the light.

He entered the darkness, confident, knowing what he would find even without being able to see it. He almost turned around to reach for Rey, but he heard the echo of her feet behind him, just as assured, and pressed forward. They eventually came to another stop, a door made of thick impenetrable metal, _beskar_ , lent from Mandalore as a sign of peace and cooperation with the newly formed Core.

Ben withdrew a key that was slipped inside of a hidden slit in his leathers. “I was given this key the day I became Alpha of Alderaan, another present from Han, hidden in his old bedroom with my name on it.” Ben paused, a little overwhelmed. It had been years since he’d sat with the emotions culled from his mother’s sacrifice, Han’s unflappable enthusiasm in making sure his children were protected—even if he couldn’t betray their secret. “I never got a chance to repay him…”

“You cared a lot about him,” Rey stated.

Ben felt her hovering close, her exhales fluttering through the ends of his hair. He turned to her, a shudder running through him at her proximity. It was hard, how his body and mind reacted to Rey. The way she stated it, soft, and maybe understanding, was making this so much harder.

“Yes,” he answered simply, jerking around, stiff and awkward, like some big, stupid dolt. Quickly, he jammed the key into the lock, listening to it open with a quiet click. The door opened to a large, empty room, save for a dust covered divan in the corner, a fireplace, and a simple wooden table in remarkable good condition considering how long it had been hidden away.

Again, Rey moved to bright light to the dark, lighting one of the torches in the room, and using it to light the others, before chucking it into the fireplace. Within minutes a fire was blazing, and the room was lit under the warmth of firelight. She took a seat, expectant, her fingers drumming across the surface. “I suppose you brought me here to forbade me to do something else. What could it be, I wonder? Want me to take up embroidery? Want a handkerchief with my initials in the corner?”

“I wasn’t trying to—” Ben’s words trailed off because she was right. He had, easily falling into the habit born of his training. He’d forgotten in that moment that although he was the Supreme Alpha of Core, he did have a partner, an intended mate who would help him lead. “I…was thinking of your safety and not your feelings. I apologize if I made you feel as if I was taking your power away.”

Rey hummed but didn’t follow up his words with any empty tempering. He deserved that, to sit with it.

Silence stretched long and uneasy in the hidden space, neither of them saying anything as he sat down. He was at a loss as to how to fix it—everything wrong with their…arrangement. With nothing else to lose Ben cleared his throat and fished the key out of his pocket, sliding it across the table, the noise as the metal slid across the wood loud in the silence of the room.

“This room…is yours. Your sanctuary, whatever you want it to be. The number of people who know about this room, besides the eunuchs, is very small, and are sworn to secrecy under the pain of death. If…ever anything happens to me, if we are separated, and you feel your life is in danger, come here. It will protect you in case that I can’t. Wards,” he said, pointing to the stones arched over the doorway, “will keep those you, the holder of this key, out if you wish them barred.”

To his surprise, Rey frowned, her mouth twisted up like the aftertaste of lemons was still strong in her mouth. “I know this is about Bazine, what she did at the feast. Look, I’ve been dealing with them for most of my adult life, evaded them time and time again as a child. They are dangerous, I will not lie, but if you will not let me kill her, then it would certainly be better to let her go. Get rid of her. Ban her from the Fortress. But never allow her to think she is your enemy. That only encourages her, which encourages the First Order.”

“She said your uncle sent him?”

Rey huffed, gazing off into the fire. “Money. It has to be money. They think I, that Takodana, still owes that money. For years my uncle held a loan over our heads, a loan my great-grandfather acquired from them. It gave them a power over us that you wouldn’t believe. However, years ago I settled our debt with them. In _full_. Besides, I am no longer the Alpha of Takodana and for that, they should have no justifiable discord with me. They are doing this just to annoy me. Nothing more than that.”

_Annoy you with a death threat?_ he almost said. Ben wanted to believe her. He couldn’t afford to. For tonight, he had no other choice. In the morning, however…

“Okay,” Ben said, nodding. He picked the key up from in front of her, untouched, unacknowledged, and placed it in Rey’s hand. “This changes nothing. This room is yours. It is your safe place. You don’t like flowers, so I offer you security.”

“Security.” A corner of Rey’s lips curled up into a half smile and Ben very much liked when any of her smiles were thrown in his direction. “Thank you but I’m not helpless, you know. I was once the Alpha of a whole clan! Not sure if you remember that. I am able to take care of myself.” Her half smile turned into a smirk. “I wager 10 Gold Lycans I could fare better than you in battle with my staff. Better yet, a bow and a few arrows.”

Ben chortled. “I’ve always wanted to learn that. Archery. Snoke said it was an Omega’s sport and would never let me touch it. Han was better a blaster sword than he was with anything that required aim.”

Rey shrugged, leaning back in her chair, key in her open palm. “I could teach you. If you’re going to huff and puff and blow every house in Core any time you think I need your protection, then the least I could do is arm you with a weapon you can pick people off without losing your cool. You and your famed Alpha battle magic might evaporate Core when you get _aggressive_.”

Ben’s laughter choked off inelegantly “A scholar on me and my temperament all of a sudden? You help me? From what I’ve heard, you’re the one in need of the teacher, so it should be me offering to help _you_.” He scoffed. “And trust me, with or without your little bow and arrow, I can do a good enough job of protecting you or anyone else.”

Rey crossed her arms over her chest, one brow raised. Ben tried not to pay attention to the way her arms pushed against her breast, revealing more distracting skin between the vee made by her gold and crimson robe. “An Alpha’s ego is enough to fill the one damned lake Mandalore has!”

“Oh, you should be well acquainted with an Alpha’s ego, Rey Kenobi. Do you know that the other clans’ are befuddled by your isolationist ways? You barely trade with anyone if it isn’t kriffing fruit. They say the Alpha of Takodana claimed she needed no one’s help.”

Her gaze cooled, but her smirk inched higher on her face, like a rose’s vine. “I’ve never said anything of the sort. But it’s not like the rest of Core often thinks of Takodana’s needs or offers it protection. Never has, not really. So, if I confuse the other clans with our self-sufficiency, that’s their problem. Besides, I’ve been recently introduced to Alderaan’s version of protection…and it stinks.”

Ben’s mouth flopped open. “Stinks! We—we,” he stuttered, indignant, “the strives we’ve made under my leadership to protect this clan collective are renowned. I am perfectly capable of protecting Takodana and it’s Alpha, if she’d only thought to ask me personally.”

“Are you sure?” Rey asked, her head tilted, like Ben was a pup and had answered a question wrong on a test. “So far, you’ve almost eaten me alive and then allowed a strange woman to threaten my life. Ask you personally for that?”

Ben sputtered, outraged. “Let’s get one thing straight. I apologized for the whole Kylo thing, you just happened to be asleep when I did it! If I didn’t think you’d cower in a corner with my approach I would have woken you up!” A weak excuse, he knew it, she knew it. “Likewise, you have yet to take _any_ responsibility for Kylo’s emergence. None! Considering you’re supposed to be this paradigm of reasonability, I am _stupefied_ that you would continue to bring that up after all of this time!—"

“It _just_ happened yesterday,” Rey drawled.

“—AND, pray tell, how was I to have known that she was going to threaten your life? Do you want me to feed into my baser instinct and hide you away from all dangers? Lock you up and throw away the key so you can hate me until Revan comes back to eat the moon?” Oh, he was really worked up. Yes, he was wrong, he’d done wrong, he had scared and threatened her. Hang him for it. But she, she! She hadn’t been just a hapless unwitting victim. Anyone would react irrationally to that level of rejection! Anyone. “If—if I would have known she was dangerous I would…have…” Ben paused. Blinked. What he was seeing was so…absurd that one of his eyebrows twitched. “Are you, are you _laughing_ at me?”

The smirk that had been plastered on her face cracked, widened, spread, blooming in a full smile and with a loud snort, she was _guffawing_ , her head flung back, baring her elegant neck—dangerous. Ben averted his eyes, looking back at hers slammed shut as she laughed it up in his face. “Mighty Maker! You are absolutely _adorable_ when you are indignant! Stars! That was the most entertaining you’ve been since—hey, do you remember that one time at the winter council meeting where you and that Rae Sloane protégé got into it? Didn’t you get a bowl of punch over your head because you chose to insult the sword thrust technique Sloane created? Damn. What was her name?” Rey snapped. “Kaisala. Oh, man. She hated you!”

Ben frowned. At least he thought it felt like a frown. More than likely he was pouting. “Give me my key back,” he said, and yes, he _was_ sulking, his tone was petulant and deep.

Rey’s eyes narrowed. “No.”

“No? You said no?” Ben made a show of contemplating her answer before he lunged across the table, hand outreached for the key in Rey’s hand. She was quicker, almost as if she’d been anticipating his move, snatching her hand back and holding it close to her chest.

“Why should I give back a gift? Are you that upset?”

“No, I’m not upset! But I _am_ going to lock you up in here and I _am_ going to throw away the key, anyways! In a vat of cement! I’ll consult with Mitaka on when Revan should be feeling hungry again.” Ben stood up, trying for menacing by looming over her, but Rey anticipated his supposed power move again, stood as well. She backed away from him, that infuriating smirk still on her face.

“Aww! The wittle puppy _is_ upset,” Rey said as she hid the key in the folds of her sleeves.

“I’m going to show you upset,” Ben growled. He lunged again, Rey shrieking like a delighted _Nexu_. They circled the table a time or two, Rey letting Ben get close before she twirled away, racing around the table. If anyone was listening from the outside, they would have thought the Supreme Alpha and the Alpha Prime were rearranging furniture, but it was far more innocent than that. On her third trip around the table, Ben pivoted hard and was just barely managed to snag one of Rey’s trailing sleeves. He yanked hard, and Rey fell back against him, knocking them both to the ground.

She landed on him with a soft umph, and Ben took advantage of her shock. One hand was braced on the floor, her elbow digging into his side as she tried to keep her balance in their precarious position, and he immediately went for it, knocking her palm from the stone. She collapsed back onto him with a shriek and Ben shoved his hand down her sleeve, trying to snake fingers between all the layers they’d sewn into her robe. But Rey—like she did with everything else—recovered quickly and twisted her torso hard until they were chest to chest. Instead of getting up, she flung her hand behind her back, twisting and squirming until she shook Ben’s hand free.

“It’s _my_ key!” she laughed.

“It was your key! Was!” He wrapped his arms around her shoulder, completely lost in their game and rolled away from the table, bringing Rey under him.

There were things that happened naturally. Things neither of them realized—or would realize for some time to come. The way he shifted his weight to his knees and an arm to keep most of his heft off of her. The way her legs spread, just enough to cradle him between her thighs. How his hand has slid behind her head as they rolled, protecting her head. How she steadied him with a hand against his chest.

Little things.

Using one arm to keep her from slapping at his hands—which wasn’t too difficult with how _hard_ Rey was laughing—he used her own sleeves as a ligature, wrapping the long silken fabric around and around her wrist until they were tied tight.

Rey gasped, her lovely green eyes dipping to her wrists then back to Ben, her mouth parted in astonishment. “You! You’re a—a cheater!”

“Maybe but I’m certainly a better tactician than you,” Ben said as he looped the fabric around Rey’s wrist one last time for good measure before throwing her arms above her head. It was only then that he realized he’d wrapped the key up in her sleeves. So, he was presented with a problem. He could unwrap her wrist of course, or…he could just leave her tied up like this.

“Call it what you want, you dirty cheater!” Rey said, tears leaking out of the side of her eyes. Ben couldn’t _not_ react, not with her face almost as red as her robe as she tried to catch her breath. He joined in, chuckling softly, lost in her as she was lost in her own joy.

This woman was so confusing. Everchanging. A mercurial windstorm at sea. But he would take this, remember it. What Rey Kenobi was like when her guard was down. It would return, that cruel moment that would put distance between them again. Maybe in a minute, maybe in an hour, where she would throw her walls back up. And Rey didn’t have normal walls, hers had fortified steel and iron and nickel. Smashing through them did not work. One would have to fly…

His gaze dipped to her mouth, a mouth he liked, pink lips and teeth that gleamed white in the firelight. It trailed up her face, to that nose of hers that she managed to weaponize with just a tilt, to her cheekbones, high and tight as her laughter contorted her face. Then his eyes landed on her green ones and…there was also a look in Rey’s eyes. Unfocused, hazy and soft

“Rey.” It took her a moment to respond to him, and she did so with slow blinks. “Are you okay?”

Rey giggled when she managed to ease her wrists out of Ben’s grip. “Of course, I am. Are you trying to use one of your sneaky attacks on me again?” She brought her arms up, wrists still tied together, looped them around Ben’s neck and with a firm yank, pulled Ben flush. Ben swallowed thickly, his eyes flicking back down to her lips which were parted, little puffs of air flowing between them. “Well, I won’t let you,” she whispered.

Ben, frozen, stared at Rey, and Rey, transformed, stared back at him, letting the silence that was once awkward, warm and intensify between them. He was almost scared to breath, fearing he would somehow break this shift, this morphing, this change.

“Can I tell you something?”

“Anything,” he breathed. He felt her heart in his chest and knew that he would give her anything.

“You remember the year I was raised to Alpha? After my father and sister were mur—died?”

No one knew much about the Savage Moon but they knew enough.

“You and Hux and Poe came—Phasma, she hadn’t been raised yet, so it was just you three. There was this…boy, an Arctic wolf who’d visited Julien. I had a crush on him.”

A deep line formed between Ben’s brows. “This is what you want to tell me? About another man?”

“A man,” she snorted. “A _boy_ , who acted like a boy. But I liked him, back when I thought I could like someone. Before responsibility became my bridegroom. But then you showed up, wearing your all black leathers, mourning in solidarity with me. My heart was so heavy. I couldn’t even feel it beating in my chest. But then…you smiled at me. I kept thinking that you would make someone such a fine mate. You’re everything an Alpha should be. And I thought…if I wasn’t hurting, if I was allowed…I could be attracted to you.”

“Rey Kenobi,” he said, biting back frustration. “I _am_ your mate now. I will be. I _want_ to be. I don’t understand why you’re fighting me so hard. We could be happy.”

“You say that now,” Rey’s words slurred at the end and her eyes flicked down to Ben’s lips.

This was lovely, magnificent, the feeling of her safe in his arms, safe enough to tell him her girlish secrets that involved him, a strident memory layered between the harsh sting of heartbreak. He breathed her in, deep into his chest, where it always invoked a sense of longing, tranquility, and territorialism. However, that _something_ he’d noticed in her eyes earlier magnified, the edges of her focus softening with each passing second. Ben took a harder look and found an answer to Rey’s behavior in her unfocused, dilated pupils. “How much wine did you have at the feast?”

“A sip or two. Maybe three?” she said, looking irate at his line of questioning. “What does it matter?”

“Three? You’ve got the constitution of a toddler. I think you’re…drunk or someth—"

There were a few ways to shut Ben up. Most of them hurt. This didn’t—well, when her lips slammed into his, his, in turn pushed against his lips and that hurt but his blood turned to fire with the shock of pain. Everything he did next was automatic, a base of his makeup taking over. Something furiously hot, like liquid heat, shot down his spine, settling at the base of his stomach in lapping waves of want when Rey tugged harder, brought them closer, angling her lips over his with a feral hunger that contradicted everything he thought lied between them. He opened himself to her, she did the same, and the kiss turned messy, savage. Ben’s hands dropped to her arms, then her waist, worming his hands under her so he can hold her against him. She was soft, well fed, a foil to the scrawny scavenger of an Alpha he’d met years ago.

She made a noise, a helpless whimper when his fingers pressed into her spine and it reminded him of where he was, who was under him, and his mind slowed to a syrupy sluggish wonderland as he realized that Rey had kissed _him_. But it was a trap, that realization because it tugged him back to earth. His lips stuttered to a stop. Kylo barked at him, severely displeased but…but this wasn’t right. Rey was drunk and he was…

He pulled back, pulled away.

Rey's eyes blinked open and a frown settled across those red, kiss swollen lips. “That’s not the reaction I was looking for.”

This could have been salvaged if Ben had the ability to keep his stupid damn mouth shut, if he could think before he talked. “Well, color me surprised that you’re looking for a reaction at all. Last time I touched you, you refused me, and I ended up scaring you half to death.”

“Well, color _me_ surprised you’re not ripping my clothes off since I’m not refusing you. Isn’t that what you wanted?” She huffed and she fell away, her lips, her warmth leaving his. “That’s practically all you’ve said since we were selected.”

Kylo, an idiot, howled at Rey’s words, her supposed willingness, and not her meaning. Ben, on the hand, deflated. “That’s not true,” he said, not sure if he was more disappointed that’s all she’d gotten from all of his gestures, or the thought that his gestures had appeared as hints, urgings for intimacy, rather than the nice things you did for someone you were courting.

“It’s very true,” she slurred. “What was it? What was it that you’d said to me? Oh. _Ah. I feel it down in my soul and in my loins. Just a whiff of you and my cock twitches._ How romantic _._ ”

“Well if you—"

“Stop reading human books and you wouldn’t get human ideas,” she parroted, even deepening her voice to match his. “Yeah, I got it.”

How quickly heaven could be rendered asunder. Ben bristled. “You want me to deny that I want you? That it hurt when you denied me? Well, I’m not. You did hurt me. And I do want you. _Desperately_.”

Hey eyes swam in her head as she unhooked her hands from around Ben’s neck. “You wouldn’t if you knew the truth. I try to save you from that and you _yell_ at me.”

Ben’s patience was as thin as a blade’s edge. “Why do you have to make everything so hard? This is the simplest thing, older than Core itself! I am yours and you are mine. One day, we will fuck. That’s all we’ll do. Fuck and rule and lead and maybe you’ll spit out some babies. There is nothing complicated about it. Only death will change that. And the way I’m feeling, I’d follow you into hell to fuck you some more!”

Rey looked at him for a long empty moment, some sort of emotion swimming in the murky faded green. “Get off of me.”

Ben scowled. “And what if I don’t want to?”

Rey laughed weakly as her eyes fluttered shut. “You’re going to turn into Kylo again? Is that how you control people? Is that how you plan on controlling me?”

_Snap_. The fragile line of Ben’s patience snapped into itty bitty fucking pieces. “You are so goddamned difficult,” Ben growled. Without saying another word, he snatched a hand free, untucked the end of her sleeves, watching as they unraveled on their own, freeing her. He didn’t wait for her to get up after him either, choosing to loom over her. “For sanity’s sake, I’m going to forget this conversation,” he seethed. “Because I can’t, Rey. I can’t do this with you anymore.” He turned away from her, hoping to hide the hurt that he knew showed on his face.

Maybe this was why their union was prophesized—that the gods had to force them together. Because without it, there would be nothing. No ledge of affection to grab onto, no cliff of desire to hang from, the promise of nothing crashing against the rocks below them.

Maybe they weren’t supposed to have the relationship that other mates had. Maybe their union was strictly for the betterment of Core. That Revan and Bastila were lucky. That they would have to spend their lives together walking on eggshells and loathing each other’s presence.

Maybe he would never experience what bonded love felt like. A fucking sap, was what he was. Stupid fucking expectations with a woman who’d already set and announced hers. This was _his_ fault.

He marched to the door, waiting for Rey so she could lock it—fine, she won!—and they both could forget this ever happened. He waited and waited, refusing to turn around until he couldn’t ignore her anymore. “Will you please come on and—"

Except Rey wasn’t waiting with her pretty little face scrunched in anger or annoyance. She was—

“Rey?”

—still on the ground… no, _sprawled_ across the floor, robe askew as if she’d tried to get up only to collapse. Panicked and deeply terrified, Ben crossed the room and fell on his knees as he hovered over Rey’s unconscious body.

“Rey?”

He shook her once, then quickly gathered her in his arms. She responded to neither.

“Rey!”

“What did you see?”

Bazine left her question ambiguous. If Trilla had done her job, she would know the answer without context.

“To the cur’s right,” Trilla began, her eerily bright green eyes falling shut as she began her recollection, “were the _Mageis_ , the Imperial Aide—a ridiculous position—then the Alpha of Mandalore and the Supreme Alpha. To her left, the two Scrye, the Kashyyyk Alpha, the Endorian Alpha, the Mandalore Alpha’s First at his side,” Trilla finished from her seat on the floor of her cell next to Bazine’s.

“Good. More.”

“The left side of the Great Assembly Room was filled with the dignitaries from the clans. The only one we need to be worried about is the ambassador from Avaal, but last I’ve heard, she’s a pacifist. It’ll take a great, great threat for her to suggest Avaal’s involvement in anything. Then there was the Captain of the Guard, an above average combatant, yet a great nuisance. It seems he favors those who toe the line, as he has assumed I have.”

“Was he correct? Better…was he successful?" Bazine asked, smirking.

Trilla did not react to Bazine’s prodding. “The matter at hand should be your success.”

Bazine hummed, a non–answer but Bazine was known to do this, to be evasive before being garrulous. Something that annoyed Trilla to no ends.

She was standing center of her own cell, hands behind her back, and her gaze focused on the door. Trilla was sure she could smell the magic sealing the door shut, same she could. Although, they shunned that sort of thing—some of them, most of them—in their move to oppress magery in Core, they’d become quite efficient at noticing it in its application. “Sealing the doors as if I wanted to be anywhere else,” she sniffed. “It shouldn’t be this easy.”

“I’m sure,” was all Trilla said. So Bazine had been successful. She glanced at Bazine’s black shirt and the one sleeve she had left. Luckily, they’d ruined the wrong one. Inside of the intact sleeve was a small, now empty, container.

“Distraction is beautiful,” she simply said. “And I am a master of it.”

The woman was insufferable, constantly floating on a high of her own making. “Tell me. Do your concoctions work?”

“Of course. I didn’t spend ten years at sea with the wretched _Open_ to not be a master of poison. Celadon Sea is nothing but poison. Yet, this mixture is special. That abomination thinks she has been so clever, hiding her scent all these long years. Soon…she will lose the ability to do that. Slowly, so it will drive her mad.”

“That easy, said, skeptical.

“Not that easy,” Bazine snipped. “She has that stupid apothecarist at her side and now she’s in the company of two mages. The Imperial Aide will continue to smuggle her medication and the _Mageis_ will find a way, I’m sure, to help that cur keep up the ruse. Yet, try as they may, it will only work for a short while.”

Trilla felt when Bazine turned to her, no doubt annoyed Trilla hadn’t stood up and clapped at her _brilliant_ speech. Instead, she found Trilla scratching old _sith_ words into the dirt floor of her cell.

“For all our trying, I am still bereft of our need to do this,” she said as she dragged her finger through the dirt, an act her estranged former house mother, Cere, would be displeased with. “She is no longer Alpha of Takodana. And our duty is to that seat and that seat alone. Her being the Alpha Prime of Core serves our purposes. We now can put who we desire as Alpha, as she has no heir.”

Bazine chuckled and Trilla could hear the derision buried under the mirth. “Her father attacked his own blood with full knowledge that we were only doing our duty. The daughter shall pay for the sins of the father, whether she’s Alpha of Takodana or not.”

Trilla scoffed. “You’ve spent far too much time in Gallius’s presence, Bazine. This is a waste of time. She has even paid her debt of Ovanis to us.”

“You fail to see the bigger picture, Trilla, which is your problem. Rey is not the goal, but the linchpin. Gilli had desired to make Takodana pure. Gallius desires to make all of _Core_ clean. To do that, he needs to be the Alpha leader and thus the seat he will claim needs to be pure as the moon. Remove to replace. To do that, you create a war. One from outside and one from within.”

Bazine’s gaze returned to the door. “All will be revealed and all will be destroyed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People  
> [ Trilla Suduri ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Trilla_Suduri) My favorite girl  
> [ Ap'lek ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Ap%27lek)  
> [ Kuruk ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Kuruk)  
> [Dopheld Mitaka](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Dopheld_Mitaka)  
> [Cere Junda](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Cere_Junda)  
> [Brev](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Brev) Brev
> 
> Places  
> [High Council](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/High_Council_Tower)  
> [ Jedi Archives](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jedi_Archives)
> 
> _____________________________  
> Come say hi to my on Twitter. I'm all over the place but I'll talk to you about anything LOL @BlackNerdJade


	10. night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha! By "ALMOST" I meant the chapter after this. My bad!
> 
> And also, I am a huge Trilla Suduri fan. If you haven't played Jedi Fallen Order then now is a fine time to meet her! She's so elegant and evil.[ Trilla Suduri cutscenes ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID7JAh3ds6Y)

Rey grumbled with the familiarity of a woman used to being incapacitated. A headache, biting and sharp at her temples pounded every time she moved— _breathed_. She blinked open her eyes, bleary and feeling stuck together, and this time she recognized the blue and greens of her suite. She lay still for a moment, under the stifling furs, taking a moment to adjust to being awake, slowly letting consciousness push the cobwebs of insentience away. Rey wished Finn was there. Before, when she’d drink too much or, on rare occasion, take too much medication, Finn was there, taking the concoctions and remedies he’d learned from his mother and nursing her pathetic self through a hangover.

Biting out a groan, and feeling absolutely pathetic, she pulled herself up like a rusty old machine, joints seeming to lock into place in a pained dance of unused muscle. She tipped her head back, giving the tight knots in her neck a good roll. She may have drunk too much but nothing explained why she felt like she’d slept on the floor.

“By all the kriffing demons of Dathomir,” she croaked, “I feel like a wagon ran me—”

It was a tingling in her senses, a rhythm in her chest she was getting familiar with.

Rey wasn’t alone.

Her head, thus her gaze, dropped, the bird nest her hair had become allowing escaped strands to fall over her face. She probably looked demented. Through it, she noticed a body—broad shoulders, dark, tousled hair that begged for fingers to tame it, a noble nose pressed into the sheets, beauty marks dotting creamy skin.

“Ben?”

Her… _intended_ was parked in a chair that looked like he’d been poured into it, his immense frame squeezed in between two cerulean covered chair arms. To his right was her _kurline_ speckled tray sitting on a small table. Atop it was: a basin of water, an empty bowl with remnants of a dark brown medicinal broth, a used spoon, and a thurible. Scents of patchouli and rose permeated the room.

It was clear—he’d been there for hours, cramped, uncomfortable, and by her side. The implication of that was not lost on her. Although, it was very Alpha like, caring for your mate, even if it was something as small as a hangover. So, Rey wondered, as she stared down at him, if this was instinctual or if he actually cared. Unfair, but Rey knew that obligation, nature, nurture, caused people to act on that, rather than be driven by it.

But Ben was right. She _was_ difficult.

The nose pressed into her fur duvet twitched, as if scenting something. In response, Rey lifted her arm, sniffing, scrunching her own nose in disgust. She could use a bath. A real one. Her medication hid her Omegan scent but it did nothing to disguise what laying in a bed for hours after a very long arduous day did.

Not that Ben cared at the moment, as sleep as he was. She wondered what he dreamed of, what he was thinking. Her mind was rift with the latent onslaught of the memories of last night, rushing towards her like a foggy, muddled stream, choppy and nonsensical. There were many to sort through—floating through the Archives, Ben showing her his secret room, Ben _giving_ her that room, for her safety, for her sanity.

Ben’s frustrated growl.

Ben’s hurt and pain as she said…something. Damn it all to hell, why couldn’t she remember what she’d said? Ben was strong, seemed to have encapsulated his feelings and emotions inside of an iron wrought shell. Yet, time and time again, Rey, her words, her actions, seemed to chip away at that.

Whatever she’d said this time, whatever it was, she felt very, very sorry to have said it. She felt sorry that she was Ben’s source of frustration.

With a sound that sounded more snort than snore, Ben shifted in his chair, a thick lock of hair falling over his face and her attention was brought back to the fact that the position he was in could not be comfortable. He should have slept in his own bed! He should have left her to her own stupidity.

Tentatively, because she could without consequence or expectation, she reached out to brush the strands out of his face. She’d watch him for another moment or two, in this cocoon of peace, before she woke him up. Her fingers had just brushed his forehead where beauty marks speckled his brow like twin ink spots when a hand clamped down on her wrist, the grip punishing and strong.

His eyes flew open, crazed and dancing in search of danger, and he jolted awake with a speed that made her wonder how Ben ever got any sleep if he was always on edge like this.

“Ben,” she said, laying a hand on his. “It’s me.”

His eyes connected with hers and the panic softened, then disappeared. “You’re awake,” he croaked, as if he hadn’t woken up ready to kill someone.

“I’m awake,” she parroted, offering him a small smile, it staying in place even as she watched him try to surreptitiously wipe the drool from his mouth. “How long have I been out?”

“Two weeks.”

Rey blanched because surely she hadn’t heard him right. “What?”

“Thirteen days,” Ben paused to look out the window at the pink and orange tinted sky, “and twenty hours.” He leaned back into the chair and it was only then, as her body lurched forward, that he realized he was still holding her wrist. He let her go like Rey’s touch burned him and Rey tried not to let the rejection of something bother her. “How do you feel?”

“Like shit? But also…refreshed? Not rested. I feel as if I haven’t had a wink of sleep.”

“You…weren’t _actually_ asleep.” When Rey frowned, Ben held up his hands. “Best I can call it was sleepwalking. You’ve been talking utter nonsense the entire time.”

Panic struck Rey like a boulder. “What…what I say?”

“Like I said. Nonsense. Something about an emd…emund…something. Finn said it was a bathing ritual in Takodana? Never heard of it.”

She thanked the Maker for Finn and his quick thinking. “That’s…good.”

Ben shrugged. “If you say so. So, you’re feeling fine?”

“Other than this headache and feeling like someone pulverized all of my bones and pasted them back together? But yeah, I’m okay.”

“Finn said you’d feel like that,” Ben said as he rolled his shoulders, grimacing as he worked kinks and knots out of his back. “Which is a good thing, I gather. I’ll have someone notify the healer. They might be a little cross with you. You all, and I do mean you, literally, got into an argument. You, Finn, and Maz against them, when you all insisted that their medication would work better than their concoctions. Apparently, you were all correct seeing how you’re awake now.”

“I…argued with them?”

“Yes, you. And loudly. You cried and wailed and then became sulky. It…Rey, it was _strange_. But I was…okay with that. Since you weren’t—” he abruptly cut himself off, pressing his lips together. “Either way, I’ll give you some time to…” he made a waving motion with his hand that held absolutely no meaning to Rey.

As Ben stood from the chair—and Rey revisited the rumors of Ben being the son of a tree demon as she looked up and up and _up_ —and headed for the door, a hand still rubbing the back of his neck. Rey called out to him as long fingers wrapped around the handle, feeling panicked as she watched him leave. “You’re—you’re coming back, right?”

“No,” he said slowly. “I need to catch up on some work of ours. Then I’m headed to the training grounds. Work out some of the sedentary.”

Oh, good. She’d always wanted to spar with him, if not watch him in action. “Wait.” Rey pushed the covers from her legs. “I’ll go with you.”

Ben looked at her as if she’d asked him to spar naked. “No.

Rey continued as if she hadn’t heard him. “Just give me a minute to change. And bathe, but not like you bathed. In a tub—who bathes naked in what was probably frigid cold water? _Nothing_ shrank so.” She shrugged. “But yeah—oh! And my staff! Bet you’ve never been bested with one of those. Fine day to start. I can show you—”

“Rey,” Ben said softly, his lip twitching at the corner as if he found her amusing, frustrating, and wild at the same time. “Rey, no. You aren’t well.”

This time Rey frowned. “I just told you. I feel fine.”

Ben crossed the room and put his hand to Rey’s shoulder, his warmth seeping into her skin. Gently, he pushed her back until she was laying down and pulled her duvet up to her neck. “Please, rest. I promise, we’ll…spar.”

Rey accepted it like a child, pouting, her arms crossed. This time when he walked away, the unexpected pulsating terror of him leaving—and not coming back—was dimmer. The receding anxiety gave her just enough courage to call out to him one last time. “Hey. Ben?”

He paused yet again. “Yeah, Rey,” his tone colored with faint amusement.

“I…um.” Her gaze fell to her hands, which she’d begun wringing, thumb over thumb, fingers sliding against the others. “I.” She paused. Inhaled. “I wanted to say I’m sorry. For…whatever I did or said. I’m sorry.”

Ben didn’t turn around, this time, his back straight. After a moment, it passed, his shoulders relaxed, his neck, the rigidness of the muscles in his arms. A hand slid into the pockets of his loose linen pants. “It’s fine, Rey.”

“No. No it’s not. I hate when people say that. It’s not fine. It’s not okay. I did something, I know I did I just,” she grunted, frustrated. “I can’t really remember.”

“You can’t remember any of it?” he asked?

Well, there was a _certain_ something she remembered but she was not going to talk about that with him. Not right now. “It’s a little…hazy right now.”

Silence stretched long and taut and ugly between them before Ben looked over his shoulder. She could see just the hint of a lopsided grin. It made him look young, like he wasn’t a wolf with the responsibility of the world on his shoulders. It sparked a light inside of Rey, warm and effervescent, but it wasn’t bright enough for her to ignore how his smile never reached his eyes. Those—they looked old, weary, despondent. “It’s not your fault. I’m learning to manage my expectations and my words.”

Rey frowned and Ben’s smile inched up his face. “Don’t worry about it. I’m a big wolf, I’ll be fine.”

Rey sighed, not believing him one bit. “Promise?”

Ben chuckled. “Promise,” he said, the note of finality ringing in the air. “Get some rest,” he said before walking towards the door.

As Ben opened the door to leave, Finn tumbled in like a lost critter, ear first, as if he’d been eavesdropping on the other side.

“Hello, Aide,” Ben said, brow rose.

“Uh, hello.” He cleared his throat and straightened his coat, a dignity saving move, yet instead of doing anything proper, like apologizing, he made a beeline for Rey’s bed, passing Ben with a nod. Before the Alpha could leave, Finn was talking a mile a minute, question after question. She heard him, of course, but her eyes were locked to Ben’s retreating broad back once again, not blinking until his form disappeared around the corner of their suite.

She jumped when Finn’s face moved into her field of vision, the Omega practically glowering. “Are you even listening to me?”

“Yes, yes. You don’t like what’s her face and what’s his face must have learned medicine from a womprat. I heard you.” She grabbed his hand and held it between hers. “There you go. Saving me all the time. Thank you.”

Finn slapped her arm. “You had us scared! First, with the fainting and then…I can’t say you were undead, because you certainly were alive. I sent Poe to the Archives to look up some possible causes but the way he was grumbling that might take days. And speaking of cantankerous Alphas—Ben’s been a total _bitch_ this entire time. He was driving me up a wall like a mouse being chased by a cat, refusing to leave your side, hogging you. And if being a perpetual nuisance wasn’t enough, he was testing your medications and trying out your food. We have people for that!”

“He did?” She looked back to the door where he’d once been. “That’s surprising,” Rey murmured. She glanced up at Finn, who was looking at her like she was an idiot. Which she was not, thank you very, very much.

“Rey, darling, love. My peanut. You know I love you right?”

Rey’s eyes slid close. Finn was about to say something that was going to get on her nerves.

“And as much as I love you, I’ve gotta say… you’re the dumbest kriffing wolf I’ve _ever_ met.”

Yep.

“What makes you say that?” Rey bit out, glowering.

Finn opened his mouth to start a probably lengthy and fiery diatribe but closed it. He looked over his shoulder, eyeing the door before standing and walking to it. Rey looked at him from the bed, annoyed, wanting him to hurry up and lecture her good so she could begin forgetting about it.

Finn peeked out of the door, slowly, as if someone was going to jump out and snatch his head off. Satisfied with whatever, he quietly shut the door behind them and rejoined her on the bed.

“Okay? Now, why—”

He put a finger to his mouth. “Thin walls, Rey.”

She huffed, not really caring about the thin walls or the door or anything. “Why am I stupid?”

Finn snorted. “Let’s not talk in general terms, beloved. We’ll be here all night.” Yeah. _She_ was going to knock his head off his shoulders. “Rey Kenobi,” he said, pointedly, “I understood your hesitancy at first. None of this makes sense. I certainly can’t make any sense of it. But face the facts, my friend—you are the Alpha Prime of Core. You can’t logic your way out of this like you do with everything else in your life because it doesn’t exist. This is an enigma that you can’t solve. You have a duty, an important one. Your name is on that Imperial Fortress gate. This is your legacy.”

Her head tilted up, imperiously. “I have accepted my duty.”

“Then why, for all the stars above us, and all the fires below, are you acting like your mate is an obligation? He is a fine, if not the finest specimen in all of these godforsaken villages and you treat him as if he did something to you! You think I haven’t seen it? He didn’t draw your name from the heavens, the gods did! You can’t be scared to care about something because of what happened to your family. I know it hurt, but you can’t let it rule you like this.”

Rey recoiled.

“Don’t blame him, Rey,” Finn continued on, his eyes plaintive, as if he were well aware of the impact of his words. “I’m not saying you two will have some wild love story—I can’t predict that. I won’t speak such an expectation on you. But…have you tried to find common ground? Ways you can be good to each other, good partners for one another?”

Rey almost snorted—of course she hadn’t. Because sometimes Rey was selfish, Rey _had_ to be selfish if she wanted to survive. But…

“I kissed him last night…well not last night, the last night I can remember. It felt indecent. I was out of line.”

Finn laughed, slapping at her leg under the covers. “Oh, you can stop this blushing bride shit with me, Kenobi. Remember that summer? I know none of your kisses are…innocent, so naïveté does not become you. And he’s your mate, not some horny teenager you groped out of boredom.”

“I did _not_ grope you, you cad! I do love how you twist the facts.”

Finn gave her a roguish smile. “One of my better qualities. Point is—he is your mate. The very last thing you can do is be indecent with your mate. Rude, entitled, mean, even, but indecent. Hell, the way that man looks at you I’m surprised he hasn’t popped a knot in full view of court,” Finn muttered.

“Finn. Stars, stop,” she said, covering her heated face. “That’s so…”

“I’m just telling you. If you feel things for Ben, it’s okay. He certainly feels things for you. It’s natural to want him. Hell, everybody else does. You’re the odd acting one out.”

The heart of the matter came to her damp, uncomfortable, and raw. “I’m not the right person for him, Finn. Outside of the pairing, outside of the impracticality of it all.”

Finn frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Just what I said. How can I be? He…” she paused to inhale deeply, exhale slowly. “Did you know his grandmother was an Alpha? And his grandfather? His father? His mother is so strong people mistake her for one? Such a strong lineage—and here I am, tainted. Borrowing power that does not belong to me. I can’t, Finn. Not like this. I don’t deserve the feelings he has for me. I don’t deserve the Blood Moon’s blessing! My entire life I’ve known that I am a liar. I’m an abomination. A—”

Her next words, choked, halfway up and lodged somewhere between her throat and her heart, faltered when Finn took her face in between his hands, so very strong for an Omega, and kissed her forehead. “I don’t ever want to hear you say anything like that ever again. You are _perfect_. You didn’t choose this path—the gods did. They know better than us all if you are worthy or not. And we all know that you are.”

Rey reached and covered Finn’s hands with her own. “Thank you, Finnegan,” she sighed.

Finn pulled away, his grin back in place. “It’s not often I get to call you an ass. I should be thanking you.”

“Your face looks like an ass,” she laughed.

“An ass you love.” Finn patted her on the head like she was a good little puppy before standing. “Tonight, I’m going to have the cook make you your favorite soup with extra, extra meat, and then we are going to have an old fashioned slumber party where you can gush on and on about how you _really_ feel. And I want it all, Rey. All that mushy gushy stuff. And how bad you messed your pretty little panties up when you kissed him!”

Finn really had a mouth on him.

“Then…we’ll talk about Bazine.”

“Wait!” In all of the confusion, she’d completely forgotten about her Uncle’s favorite goon. “What about her?”

Finn wrinkled his nose. “She was physically removed from the premises three days after you fell unconscious.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you lead this clan and your words hold weight.”

“What does that have to do with Bazine?”

“Honor my mates wishes, your mate said. And your wishes were honored, just like that. You, my love, have the power to eradicate the threat that makes you undermine yourself, Grab it, Rey. Burn your enemies and take hold of everything you’ve ever wanted.”

Rey’s mouth fell open.

“You can rule the world instead of hiding from it.”

“How much longer do you think they will follow us?”

Bazine shrugged a slender shoulder. “As long as they’ve been instructed to follow us, I gather. Makes no difference to me. The moment they are on First Order lands, they become hostages. Easier than having a few abducted as per my previous plan.” Bazine chuckled. “Child’s play. Did you recognize any of them?

“Yes,” Trilla said. “Rose, Dinfire’s First. Paige, Takodana’s First. Kyp, Endor’s First and Jaina, the mage.”

Trilla took a glance behind her at the trail of dancers from the lands South of Core in their wake, their caravan a jumbled mass of somber, scared faces. Of course, they would be the first to suffer the fate of Bazine’s plans, supplying the first half of the energy needed by Nu'lema Rar. They were marching to their deaths and some of them looked like they were well aware of it. Loose ends and all. Though, they would be the first in what was to be a great deal of days filled with the stench of fresh blood.

It really was a shame—she’d befriended some of the younger dancers and she thought the young girl would make an excellent playmate for Mina, one of the younger First Order neophytes. But that would not come to be.

She sighed, not understanding what this advanced, what part of their cause this fell under. But she had her orders.

She looked beyond the dancers. It was easy to keep an eye on the four people trying their best to blend in with the edge of the forest surrounding the trail between Core and Takodana. She’d have to give it to them—they were really good. There had been times where she’d lost them amongst the malachite and emerald of Core’s woodland. Yet, if they were good, she was better, better than all of them. She had the eyes of an eagle and the nose of a sightless wolf.

She could have spotted them from anywhere.

She turned back forward and reached into her saddle bag, fingering her familiar all black uniform before pulling out an equally dark headband. Beside it was a wrapped parcel, lake water soaked petals that smelled like fresh woods. It was from Dal, a parting gift, and an end to their very brief affair. It seemed Gallius had bigger plans for the both of them.

She never quite understood Gallius’ wishes—his thirst for power, his thirst for purity, even his thirst for her. She figured she wouldn’t understand until long after they’d mated. Trilla Suduri, Beta of Junda, was nothing but a peasant, inducted into the Inquisitor guild of the First Order because she needed somewhere to go and people she could depend on. Her loyalty to her benefactors did not keep her from recognizing that Gallius and those who thought like him, was full of treacherous contempt.

But it wasn’t her place to question. It was her place to follow. And follow she would. For she was a Wolf of the First Order and she kept her back to the moon.

Rey was having a nightmare. Normal. These nightmares were much different from her nap dreams, of course. These always felt malicious. The world her mind created while she slept was filled with a miasmic poison that inculcated fear and terror into her very bones.

It was the dead of the night with only a thin sliver of a milky white moon above, fragments of it spilling over the land in pale slices of light. A thick fog, choking, almost opaque with its density, crept up from below, a haze meant to narrow the world down to what her mind wanted her to see.

Rey stood on a lengthy rope bridge, one so long she couldn’t see the other end of it. She’d never seen this bridge before, which was odd to her. Her dreams were usually fragmented pieces of her life, morphed and warped into something more chilling than terror—the truth.

Her night clothes were gone, instead replaced by a black traveling robe with crimson buttons that split down the middle at the waist, revealing a pair of equally dark riding breeches. She whirled around, looking for a horse, which she couldn’t find, and something about that pained her.

In the distance, through the curtain of fog, was the smoky silhouette of a campfire and figures huddled around it. Rey reached for them, using her senses to sniff them out, but she smelled no danger coming from that direction, just the sweet comfort of familiarity, as if she knew them.

They could wait, then. She had bigger issues to deal with, such as being surrounded. Clusters of figures draped in shadows and darkness stretched out in both directions, shoulder to shoulder. There were so many of them Rey wondered how they could possibly move in such a formation. The one thing Rey didn’t need to worry about—who they were. Red kyber crystals refracted across the bridge in a kaleidoscope of red and pale pinks.

Rey accounted their presence in this nightmare to seeing far more of them recently than she wished to in a million lifetimes. It was as if they were determined to haunt her in her waking hours and while she slumbered.

Although it should have been impossible, the faction of First Order militants began to part down the middle, as if cleaved in half, making room where there should be none. A familiar crop of pale blond hair appeared on one side, to which Rey turned towards. Bazine smiled, even as a looming shadow slinked across the planks of the bridge behind and beyond her. She turned once again and was greeted with the devil.

Even though[AW1] she had never, _ever_ met the man in person, her mind supplied the identity, his appearance piecemealed from the stories her father and sister would tell her about her uncle.

Gallius Rax, second son of Sidious and leader of the First Order.

“Rey…my precious niece,” Gallius cooed as he took a step closer. “Come give your uncle a hug.”

Instinctively, Rey reached for her staff only to grasp at air. It was then that Rey missed the days when she trained with Tionne, Brakiss and Streen. She grew so used to having them at her back, the natural rhythm of three people who knew each other’s moves more than they knew the certainty of their next heartbeat. It had been months since she’d had the chance and not having them at her side, not having her weapon, made Rey feel like all her skin and muscle and tissue had been peeled back, revealing just how vulnerable she was fighting alone. Not that she couldn’t handle her own—the three of them made damn sure of that.

_"Slash, then sweep. Block, then kick. Strike from the ground to the sun, then thrust,” Tionne would instruct as Rey dueled with her staff against Streen’s double sided axe. “If you think that you can beat him, you will beat him."._

So, Rey swallowed the unsurety of the moment. She was the former Alpha of Takodana. The current Alpha Prime of Core. She was a fearsome creature, strong, intelligent, and born of the sun. She would not let a phantom that slithered around in her dreams cause her to forget that.

“Why are you here?” Rey growled, her jaw clenching as her uncle took yet another step closer.

“To see you, of course! My, my. What a beautiful young woman you’ve turned out to be! Feels like yesterday when you were a cub suckling at your mother’s teat. Now look at you,” Gallius said with a fond smile and a gross, sticky feeling climbed in Rey’s throat. “Now, to business. As _family_ ,” he purred, “it is not too untoward for me to ask for what you owe me, is it?”

Rey glowered at him, him and his false saccharine sweet smile. “I owe you nothing. You have nothing to collect and you have no reason to be anywhere near me. Leave before I do something you’ll regret. Do not think I’ve forgiven you for what you’ve done to me and mine,” she snarled.

Gallius’ lips quirked, then quivered, and before long, he had his head tipped back, laughing. “Oh, sweet, sweet child. You think I came all this way for Ovanis?” There was a snort of laughter behind her. Rey glared over her shoulder at Bazine, who just laughed louder. “You honestly think _money_ was all that gave me power over you? I will _always_ have power over you. Over you, yours, and anyone unlucky enough to call you friend,” Gallius paused, tilting his head. “…or mate.”

“What else could you possibly _want_ from me?” Rey cried. “I’ve given you everything I have, everything that you’ve ever asked of me!”

“You think so small for someone who shares my blood. It’s…embarrassing. If you’re so eager to know…I’ll show you.”

He raised a hand and the figures on the bridge shifted again, their ability to shift space in the absence of it confounding her. Another set of people were allowed through, flowing past shoulders, arms and legs, as if they were made of water. It was more First Order insurgent, dressed in black as all the others. They were pulling along someone else, someone she couldn’t scent, oddly. Their captive stretched a head or two taller than them, wet, sinewy muscle pushing out of a sleeveless dark blue tunic. Veins protruded from their forearms, a tension born from their struggles to free themselves from having their hands tied behind their back. The same had been done to their ankles, thick, tawny twists of rope were around their ankles.

It was a vindictive leverage, because Rey was sure if the captive could fight on even ground, no man would have ever had the ability to overpower him. A black shroud covered their face and slinked down over their wide set shoulders and Rey wondered at all the machination to keep this person—Alpha now that she could catch muted notes of his scent—hindered. How they must fear him.

When they were only a few steps away, the captive was pushed forward, stumbling over their leg bindings and hitting the ground. Rey winced as their knees came down hard on the thick wooden planks. She didn’t know this person, didn’t know what they could have done to draw the ire of the First Order, but she was incensed over their treatment.

“Gallius,” because Rey refused to call him uncle,” what do you mean by this? If you have an issue with me, deal with me. Don’t bring outsiders into this.”

“Oh! That’s precisely my point, Rey Kenobi! Let’s think about the consequences of making and sustaining me as an enemy, hm,” Gallius said as he turned and faced the moon, light coloring his tanned features an eerie white. “Who suffers when a leader goes to war? The banks? Yes, probably. The soldiers who fight for them? Of course. The councilmen, the stewards, the elders? Most certainly. But who suffers the most?” He turned to her, his eyes cold and calculating. “The people, niece. The people who have connected themselves to you. By following your orders, your lead. By trusting you. But no one can trust you, can they, pup? You’re a liar…an abomination,” he hissed.

The ruling line must be clean.

The ruling line must be pure.

The ruling line must be untarnished.

Rey had plenty practice disavowing those words. She wasn’t always successful, but when she wanted to be, when she needed to be, her mind was a mirror, refracting, casting away.

“Your point?

“My point?” Gallius asked as he took a step back, his gloved hand landing on the kneeling figure’s shoulder. “My point is the ones you love will always pay the price for your existence. Reyn, Brenton—”

For a scant second Rey looked past Gallius’ shoulder to the bluff next to the bridge, where two twin shadows stood.

“—your precious cunt of a traitorous sister and now…”

The shroud was yanked from around the figure’s head.

Rey’s heart slowed, then stopped. Her skin turned cold. Her mouth filled with the bitterness of ash.

“…Ben?”

His eyes, narrowed from the sudden light, searched for her voice until he found her, the relief, a bedmate of his rage. “Are you okay?” he asked.

But it wasn’t right. The terror Rey felt didn’t mirror in Ben’s eyes. It should have. She could see the anger, the shame of being powerless, lingering there. But no fear. And she wanted to yell, scream, unleash an unholy maelstrom that brought fire to the cold, solid lump in her chest.

She wanted to cry out that he shouldn’t be worrying about her right now, but she couldn’t.

There were many undiscovered layers to Ben, but she knew enough to know that he wasn’t built that way. He wasn’t perfect—he was as flawed as any wolf. But she knew he was noble, an ideal of honor, a willing shield for those he cared about. And damn it, despite every reason he shouldn’t, Ben _did_ care for Rey and for the first time in a long time Rey feared for someone else.

She feared what consequences her lies would bring.

“Did he hurt you?” Ben asked, eyes roaming over her body for the presence of injuries. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Rey’s mouth opened and closed like a land caught fish. Fuck that. She—she had to get him out of here! Now.

“If he hurt you, by the Maker I’m—"

The shroud was tugged back over his head, Ben’s words muffled behind the thick fabric. “Enough talking.” He and two others yanked the giant of an Alpha from his knees, subduing him with a blade pressed up against his ribs. Rey was shaking—she knew what had to be done, she just didn’t know how to do it. So she did the one thing that might work.

She begged.

“Whatever you’re about to do, please don’t.”

Gallius’ face could have been carved from stone for all that he reacted to her plea. “Say goodbye, Rey.”

“No, no, no! Please!” She dropped to her knees, her hands held out as if she could snatch Ben to her side, snatch him away, hide him, protect him. “I’ll do whatever you want. Please. Don’t—just wait! Trade me for him! Please! Just—just don’t…”

“Anything?” Gallius looked contemplative, as if Rey had given him everything he’d asked for, right then and right there.

“I’ll step down,” she said, voice rough, a knot where her throat should be. “I’ll come to you, surrender myself to the First Order. Allow myself to be punished according to your wishes. An _emundet_.”

“You’d do that for him?”

“Yes.” And Rey knew what she was saying was true. She would.

Gallius began to cackle, spurred by gods know what and—and then it was too late. With a rough shove, Ben was toppling over the rope and into the darkness below the bridge.

She felt his heart thump faster and faster, the fear of the unknown capture him, until she felt nothing. Nothing….

“Ben?” Her fingers dug into the skin of her chest, desperate to feel anything. Anything, because it couldn’t be true…

“Want to know why I will always have power over you, Rey?” Gallius said, his face cracked with a maniacal grin, as if he were feasting on Rey’s pain. “Because I will continue to do this, over, and over, and over again. Until you crack. Until break. Until you yield to the only death you deserve.”

Rey felt it clawing at her neck and no matter what she did to prevent it, there wasn’t a force strong enough to stop the guttural heartbreaking scream that tore from her throat.

“Sleep tight. I’ll be for you soon enough.”

Rey woke up with pure panic driving her every motion, fighting with her covers, kicking them to the ground, and jumping out of bed. She slipped once, twice of the slick fabric before she was on her feet.

Finn was used to her nightmares, used to Rey jolting awake with a scream in her throat, so used to it he could roll over and go back to sleep while she recovered. But this must have been different, because he sat up alarmed, eyes wide as Rey scrambled across the floor and towards the door.

“Rey? Rey! What’s wrong with you?” Finn yelled as he got out of bed, following her.

“Ben—Ben! I have to get to Ben! We’re—I have to help him—he fell! He’s down at the base of the chasm and I—"

Finn reached her before she could get to the door, skidding to a stop and yanking her shoulder back as her fingers circled the knob. He spun her around so hard and fast her eyes swam. “Rey! Snap out of it! You had a dream. It was a bad dream1 Ben is okay! We just saw him a few hours ago, remember? When the healers came to check on you.”

She didn’t listen to him, she couldn’t. She had to—she had to—

Rey pushed Finn away, a flurry of sleeves and sleep clothes and arms, and her friend stumbled back. If she were in her right mind, she’d feel sorry about that, apologize even, but she wasn’t.

“Rey,” he said, as he stormed towards her again, grabbing her arm. “Get a grip! You—” he paused and something like terror flashed across his face. His frenzied touch gentled, but his grip tightened. “Rey. Look at me.”

“No!” Rey tried to yank out of Finn’s arms again, but she couldn’t this time. She whined, on the verge of tears. Finn didn’t understand. She _had_ to get to Ben, to see if he was alright.

“Rey!” Finn said a third time, shaking her like a pup. She yelped, but her vision locked on him and only him. She saw the anxiety on his face, and she didn’t understand. “Listen to me, love,” he said evenly, like Rey was a wild animal capable of hurting herself if he didn’t calm her down. Finn inhaled deeply through his nose and the fear in his eyes grew. “Where is your medication?”

The terror was ebbing now, waning and receding back into the dream world she’d yanked herself out of. She took slow and easy breaths, trying to match the rise and fall of Finn’s chest. Rey blinked and willed her heart to slow. Now that she was calming, she could feel Ben’s heartbeat in her chest. He was…fine. Alive.

“My…my medication?” Rey parroted, her confusion and relief overlapping. To her left was the tall curio by the window. On the third shelf sat a deep cherry wood box with a golden latch. She pointed to it. “It’s where you put it. In the box.”

“Okay. Okay,” he breathed. “I’m going to let you go. Do you think you’ll be alright?”

“I’m…” and Rey then realized how demented she must have looked. But the terror had been real, she could still taste it, pungent and acrimonious and thick. “I’ll be alright. I was just a dream. It was terrible, and I—and I panicked, but I’m,” she exhaled slowly. “I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”

Finn gave her a long accessing look like Rey was a deer about to flee before making a decision and letting her go. He walked to the curio and grabbed the box, flicking the lock back and prying the lid back. He looked inside…and looked…and looked.

“What?”

“The box.” His eyes flicked up to hers, then back down. “It’s empty.”

Rey scoffed. “Don’t be silly. There should be at least a three-month supply.”

“I am not lying to you, peanut. It is completely empty. Look,” Finn said. He picked the box up and upturned it. Nothing fell out. Not even the dry herbs Maz used to flavor the bitter medication with. “Has anyone been in here?”

“No, I don’t think. I mean, it would be impossible, right? But—but it’s _fine_. I’ll just…get some more. I’m sure Maz can brew me up some before my next dosage is due. That’s,” and Rey calculated, taking into account that she’d been out of it for half a month, “…two weeks away.”

“The last time you took a full dose was a little over two weeks ago?” Finn said, his voice still eerily calm.

“Right. The night of the Blood Moon Festival. I picked it up from your mother before I headed to the festival grounds.”

“That’s not possible. No,” Finn muttered, right before he stumbled. Alarmed, Rey raced across the room before he hit the floor.

“Finn,” she gasped. “What’s wrong? Are you okay? Hurt?”

Her best friend shook his head as if she wasn’t getting it, as if she were concentrating on the wrong thing. He looked up at her, unblinking. “Rey. I can smell you.”

Relief rolled across her and she slumped forward. “Oh, gods, Finn! You scared me! This isn’t the time for jokes!”

“No! It’s not a joke, you idiot! I _can_ smell you! You. YOU.”

The realization of what he meant struck home and Rey all but collapsed on her haunches. “Me?” Rey raised her wrist to her nose. Touched her neck. “The—the real me?”

“The real you.”

“That’s impossible. That’s impossible, Finn! I’ve been taking it for decades! It’s never failed!”

Finn groaned, his head falling into his hands. “I understand why you couldn’t wake up. Gods! How could I be so stupid!” Finn unceremoniously reached for Rey’s sleeping pants leg and raised it.

She hadn’t seen them in years, since her body acclimated. Long, angry red welts slashed across her skin like disturbed blood red Crait minerals.

“Fucking Bazine. It had to be her! She must have found the antidote.”

“The antidote?” Rey asked, her voice reedy with panic. “To what?”

“Vachelli is a component of your medicine. It’s a poison. For us to be able to alter and hide your true scent, your body is poisoned. She…she must have discovered that and found a way to counteract it. Shit!” Finn shot up. “I have to go. I have to go _right_ now.”

“Where?”

“An olfa. We need an olfa. A strong one. It’s only a matter of time…”

Rey frowned. “Before what?”

The look Finn gave her scared her more than her dream.

“Before Ben smells you.”


	11. gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My office is practicing HEAVY social distancing for the next week or so, so instead of doing actual work, here I am, updating this fic like crazy! Tada! 
> 
> Also, the best way to describe Kylo, the wolf?
> 
> Inuyasha.

Kylo never slept. Not really. Never found the need for it. It was a…what did Ben call it? Right. A “technicality”. Because Kylo’s consciousness was guided by a sense of awareness. And although he was never truly awake—that fell to Ben—Kylo was cognizant of everything. Always, always, aware.

Kylo, in this technical sense, was older than Ben, wiser, more in tune with who he was. He remembered his birth, the smell of red—blood oranges split open, fire, poppies littered over a birthing bed—Dothamir, where he was born. The scent of damp caves and burning fires, such as the one he, his mother and father holed up in for weeks before returning to Alderaan. Those who helped his mother recover, those who gave his father advice about raising pups. Those who held him when he cried so that Leia could some sleep.

He remembered the flowering fields and the dense fertile forest around it, the taste of raw meat, and the warmth given off from the communal birchwood firepit. He remembered training under the sun, the indescribable sound of calibrated battle magic, the sweet song the Force sung in his blood.

He could, if he wanted, lead Ben to that cave, to that land, to those people. See how the clan—the baseline of Kylo’s existence—influenced his life. Make the decision for him, forcing him to examine another facet, a different possibility. Test their influence over each other, and everyone around them.

Ben’s influence was evident. He was a leader, the leader, knew how to order people around, make them do what he wanted, rally them to war, extract loyalty and shit. It was Kylo’s influence, however, that made Ben strong. Ben may attribute that to other humans—Han and Leia and even that fucker Snoke for instance—but that was because it was a very predictable dumbass thing that humans did. Look outward instead of in.

Because if Ben looked inward, he would see Kylo’s influence, that physicality other shifters lacked. Kylo knew their body better than Ben. He could feel the vibrations under his feet when approached and from what direction and speed, giving him a clue to their purpose. He could calculate the path a weapon would take just by how it sounded cutting through the air. His eyes were keen—he knew he could see farther than any other wolf and could smell the very essence of any shifter that came near him.

Yet, one thing Ben handled better than Kylo was emotion. The logistics of something ethereal, untouchable. Kylo didn’t process emotion like Ben did. That was known. No wolf did. The wolf inside of a shifter didn’t have the patience. Anger meant anger. Sadness meant you were sad. It took too long to break feeling down in the smaller parts to understand the cause.

That’s why, after keen observation, Kylo could say, confidently, that Ben loved Rey. True love at first fucking sight. Or arrangement, or prophecy, whatever. He didn’t know it yet or maybe he did, and his pride wouldn’t allow him to say it or even acknowledge it, but it was true. He loved her.

It was that simple.

Ben loved Rey.

However…

Kylo didn’t…love Rey in the same way that Ben loved Rey. Kylo felt he owned her, yes. Would do anything to protect her? Without question. Anything to make her happy? Absolutely. He needed Rey, wanted her. But love? He couldn’t process that goopy romance bullshit.

Kylo loved, in a more feral sense, Kira, Rey’s wolf.

Rey smelled like Rey—unique, rare, one of a fucking kind.

Kira?

Gods.

She smelled like everything Kylo needed to survive.

Kylo had only smelled Kira once, over a shared meal at one of those stupid, boring, silly meetings. He could tell, because he was attuned to her instantly, that Rey was suppressing Kira, but something—and it was the very reason he knew they were fated to be together—allowed Rey’s wolf to skim the surface of Rey’s conscious, become aware, just for scant seconds, in between blinks. And mercy, the moment Kylo smelled her, he positively shook with elation. Kira’s raw spices and earthen scent assaulted him, almost violently, and he’d never been happier.

He would never, ever forget that scent for as long as he lived. He lived only to smell it again.

And that day had come.

It was there, stronger than Kylo had ever smelled it in his life and he made a decision. Rey’s life had been threatened and that was irrevocably unacceptable. If Kylo had been in control, Bazine would have been torn limb from limb in front of everyone, so they would know not to ever in their pathetic lives threaten what belonged to him.

But Kylo hadn’t been in control.

Hadn’t.

Rey paced her room, frightened, more terrified than she could ever remember being. She was absolutely going to lose it all. Right as she had begun to think she deserved this, to be at Ben’s side, to be a leader of Core, was it all about to be snatched away. 

She was going to die.

They would kill her. Just as easily as they would kill any liar, any traitor to Core. And she could feel it—the cold steel across her neck, the fire licking at her ankles. She could see all of her ephemeral dreams broken across a pyre of lies, brittle like her flame-soaked bones.

But still that wasn’t the scariest part. Her legacy was being built, to be written down in the annuals in the Imperial Archives, next to Revan and Bastila, Gungar and Holdo. Her legacy—built by the strength of her father, the courage of her sister, the sacrifice of her mother—immortalized.

Her legacy stained Finn’s lips with every lie he’d ever uttered for Rey’s sake. It was pulled along by Poe’s affection for Finn, allowing him to protect Finn’s lies with a love worn smile.

Ben could be ruined because of her.

If she died a traitor, then their honor died alongside her.

Rey slipped into bed and pulled the covers up and over her head, shutting the world out, and, hopefully, the voice in the back of her head, the one that sounded like a stranger, telling her she’d brought blood and ruin to everything she touched.

You are why your mother ran, why your father is dead. Why your sister died in her mate’s arms. You, Rey. You.

No. No! No…

In the morning, she and Finn were going to travel to Takodana, see Maz, pray there was a solution. For now, she could smell the thick, piquant odor of the olfa, and on the back of her tongue, Finn’s jerry-made emergency suppressant. These things were the only sanctuary for her secrets. But if they failed. No. When they failed…

Rey screamed into her pillow.

Fresh air. She needed fresh air. She’d been promised that the olfa would extend to every corner of the Dyad suite, but no further, so fresh air was out of the question. However, she could not stay in this room a minute longer, feeling like the only solution was clawing her skin, her glands, from her body.

Mind made up, she pushed herself out of bed and wiggled into a pair of slippers before picking up a silk robe slung across the back of her settee and slipping it on. The robe was another gift from Ben, probably snuck in there while she was out of it. It wasn’t the black and gold of Core, but deep blue and green, the colors of Alderaan and Takodana.

Alderaan tradition saw seven gifts to your intended mate. So far Ben had given her three—her room filled with starblossoms, the chamber deep within the Imperial Archives, and now this robe. She wondered what her other four gifts would be. She wondered if Ben would one day come to regret giving them to her.

Stop it, Rey. You’re better than this. 

This voice sounded like her mother. 

You will not be weak. Not now.

Or what she remembered her mother’s voice sounding like.

You are a wild breeze, the storm, Jai, a witch born of the stars, my love. You will not be weak.

Right. Collect yourself. You will fix this.

As her hand wrapped around the knob, Rey heard a faint, rumbling growl reverberate through the door. Another voice inside her head, maybe.

Before she could try again, the door swung open, as if the owner had a key. She took a step back to avoid it, too startled to consider it strange right away.

Rey paused. She knew she was tired and stressed out and imagining how painful her execution would be when she was found out but…she wasn’t tired enough to imagine Ben standing there, stance rigid, hands curled into fists at his side, face hard, the muscles in his jaw flexing.

She blinked, frowned, peered closer. She absolutely knew she wasn’t dreaming up the golden irises.

Rey swallowed harshly. “Ben?” she asked, quiet and unsure.

A corner of his lips slinked up the side of his face like a runaway tributary. His hair, down around his shoulders in soft midnight waves, danced across his shoulders as he shook head from side to side.

“Not Ben.”

Not Ben. Right. Great. Now would be a great time for panic, huh?

She opened her mouth to scream bloody murder but before she could even gather the breath in her lungs, Kylo’s hand shot forward, his large calloused palm landing at the soft junction where her shoulder and neck met just under her gland. Rey followed the movement with wide eyes, her mouth gaping open in first shock, then indignation before she felt a dull ache, one that slowly spread out in swelling pulses.

“Ow,” she breathed, rather pathetically.

Then the entire right side of Rey’s body lost all feeling, like it had been cut off from the rest of her, the numbness soon traveling to her left side, and she flopped forward, like a discarded rag doll. Kylo easily caught her before she hit the ground, and she didn’t know if she was thankful for that or not. She tried talking, then screaming, but when she opened her mouth, nothing but wet, useless, gasping noises emitted forth. Which was unfortunate because she would really, really like to tell him exactly how she felt about him tossing her over his shoulder like a sack of flour.

“Nihil tut’jahli,” Kylo murmured.

Gibberish. Perfect. Her mate’s wolf spoke gibberish. Rey added that to the long list of things about her current predicament that she didn’t understand. It hurt her brain a little so she didn’t fight too hard as the darkness took over and she passed out.

The first sense Rey regained was sound. The crackling of wood sounded loud, as if it wasn’t very far away from her. The faint sound of water trickling into a pond and the distant chirping of birds.

The next was touch, first in her fingertips, like someone had been sitting on her fingers and was slowly, slowly relenting the pressure. Then her lips, tingling, nose, itchy, face, buzzing, then the rest of her body. The heat from the fire registered shortly afterwards and Rey could tell that the fire was huge, or she was a lot closer than she previously imagined. She was laying on something soft—not as soft as the mattress in her suite but unreasonably more comfortable. When she regained the use of her nose, the sheer power of scent almost bowled Rey over. Her hackles raised like a lothcath sensing danger was near. She could smell the scent of more than one unfamiliar wolf.

She lurched forward, like a jackknife, wild and sharp, grappling blindly for anything to protect herself with. She had all the reason in the world to be alarmed—she was somewhere foreign, she still couldn’t see, and she was surrounded. 

Maybe she should shift? Would she regain any of her lost senses in another form? No. No. She’d just be four legged and blind, or huge and lumbering and still blind. At least she had her sense of smell, thank the stars. Rey had been in worse predicaments before. And she’d escaped them all with the help of her nose.

Slowly, as if that would prevent or attract a wolf from sensing her, she eased herself out of the bed, feeling for the ground with her feet. Stone met her feet, cold enough to seep through her slippers. The wolves around her hadn’t stolen anything from her, not that she had a lot on her person to begin with. She’d been abducted in her sleepclothes after all. 

Moving with deliberate, mindful intention, Rey took a few silent steps until her hands met with the rough dampness of a wall. A cave. She’d been stolen away to a cave.

That was the best news ever.

When Rey was a pup, during summer seasons, she was sent to the caves below Appenza Peak. Most, if not all, young shifters were sent there to learn survival tactics from an old shifter named Saw Gerrera, a man who’d lived through three wars, his battered body a testament to that.

One of the most important tricks Saw taught them was about temperature. The further back you moved into a cave, the farther from sunlight you went, and the colder it got. The opposite held true as well. Using that knowledge, she edged along the wall, using it as a guide, waiting for her hands to run across cooling stone.

“Warm water flows behind the walls,” a voice called out, gruff and slightly amused. “You’re heading deeper into the cave. Smart, tryna feel your way out.” A chuckle. “Useless, but very smart.”

Rey almost bit through her bottom lip, both in fright and anger. That irascible jackass is watching me fumble and struggle around this cave like some sightless newborn pup! Her hands fell to her side, dejected, and she turned towards the voice.

“You think this is a joke?” she growled.

Kylo snorted. “I don’t joke.”

“Whatever,” Rey spat before stubbornly turning back to the wall and heading in the opposite direction.

“You look stupid. Sit down before you go and fuck yourself up.”

“No, thank you, Kylo. I’m sure I can safely find my way out,” Rey said with as much civility as she could drag from the yawning pit of her exasperated soul.

“There is no ‘out’, only an up. This is the one of the bottom levels of this cave. It’s circular and miles underground. If you can find the door, congrats to you, but it leads to a flight of stairs…which leads to another flight of stairs and another, and another, and another. Good luck with that. Maybe you’ll tire yourself out enough for your sight to come back. I don’t care.”

Well, Rey didn’t care either! And she continued to ignore him and continued feeling along the cave walls and continued being obstinate until she had to admit that Kylo was telling the truth.

She had no choice but to ask. No, that wasn’t’ right. You couldn’t ask him anything. Demand. “Take me home, Kylo,” she grounded out.

Kylo made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded like he would do anything but. “You were in danger there. Why would I take you back?” he said, like she was stupid and slow. “This is your home now. Get comfortable. Or not. Like I said, I don’t care.”

“No,” Rey tried patiently, calming her breathing, and pushing her annoyance down. “This is not my home. My home is in Core. Your home is in Core.”

There was the sound of rustling clothing and Rey just managed to scent Kylo—sweet, wet dirt and rain clouds—before she felt the rush of air he brought with him as he crossed the room in a flash. There suddenly was an arm under her legs and one braced behind her back before Rey felt herself being hoisted in the air. She did not give him the satisfaction of yelping.

“Kylo,” Rey said evenly. Nothing escalated Ben’s wolf into a hemorrhage of frenzy than a good shouting match. “Please put me down.

“You are getting on my nerves,” Kylo replied acidly. Rey’s mouth dropped open indignant, affronted. She felt herself falling before she could give voice to the indignation, her body hitting the mattress with a thud. Soon, a thick cover of some sort was being pulled up Rey’s body. “Sleep.”

Rey pushed at the hands trying to tuck her in like some kind of damn child. “I don’t want to go to sleep, you idiot!” she screamed, her façade of calm gone, just gone. “I want to go! Take me—" Rey stopped herself from saying the word ‘home’ because obviously that was a trigger word for wherever-the-hell he thought they were. “I want to go back to Core.”

“And I don’t care what you want!” he snapped. “Sleep if you want to see again. “

That shut Rey up. If she could see, then she could escape! Immediately, she stilled, allowing Kylo to lift her head and shove a pillow under it. 

“Are you hungry?”

Rey sniffed. “I thought you didn’t care?”

A growl, the puff of air fluttering across her face and collarbones. “Such a mouthy little bitch,” he snarled.

Rey tried patience again. “That is no longer an accepted term for female shifters, Kylo. Get with the times. My name is Rey. Use my name. It’s easy. Reeeeeeey.”

There was a disbelieving snort, and then nothing, the room smelling awfully blank as Kylo’s scent left the room. Then the jackass just…abandons me! Well I’ve never in my life, when I get my sight back the first thing I’m going to do is jam my foot up his ass!

But the moment never came, not for hours, it seemed. Rey was left alone, blind, lost, angry and annoyed. With nothing left to do, Rey turned on her side with a huff and accepted the sleep that came.

“Food.”

Something heavy slapped against the ground by the fire, a quiet rush of embers flaring in displaced air. Above her, the ceiling was coated in an orange glaze, shadow and light dancing above her as the fire cast its long reach.

Oh. She could see!

She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of admitting he was right, however. But she could see! Overjoyed, Rey sprang up and let her vision adjust, giggling as the darkness at the corner of her vision receded.

“Food,” Kylo said again. Rey was hungry but instead of looking over to him, she let her eyes wander.

Stars! The cave was huge! Categorically, caves were supposed to be large things so when Rey said huge, she meant huge. Columns of limestone and chalk stretched from the ceiling to the floor with glittering stalactites that dangled down towards them like outstretched gnarled fingers. The fire she felt before came from a large firepit in the center of the cave as wide as she was tall. A large patch iron flue hung from the ceiling of the cave, probably leading to a chimney where the billowing clouds of black smoke escaped out into the air.

Around the fire itself were white birchwood branches weaved into a complicated criss crossing pattern, surrounding it like a pale fence. Situated around the pit were four fur covered stone seats, north, south, east, and west of it.

On the opposite end of the cave was a large sparkling freshwater pool, most likely feeding from some river or underground spring. It flowed through the cave structure, branching off and streaming through a small outlet at the base of the cave wall.

All in all, Rey was stunned. She wasn’t aware anything like this existed. The caves she was used to were deep dark dank holes in the side of mountains. This…this was…

“Kylo…where are we?

Rey turned and her astonishment imploded like a collapsed hut.

“All the fires below,” she cried, aghast. “Kylo, what the fuck are you doing?”

Kylo held a bloody rib between his fingers, gingerly nibbling meat from it in delicate bites, like it was a decadent luxury. Next to him were a pile of bones gnawed clean. He finished the rib he was working on, leaving nothing but smooth striated white bone, and tossed it onto the pile before reaching for another one. “I’m reinventing the wheel. What does it look like I’m doing? Eating,” he quipped.

“I can see that,” she retorted dryly. “Is there a reason in particular you’re eating it raw?”

Kylo glared at her sidelong, his face of disgust matching hers. “How else do you eat it?” he said as he bit into the meat of another rib. Rey’s lip hitched to one side as blood dribbled down Kylo’s mouth and onto his arm. “Oh, that’s right. You and Ben and those other idiots “cook” your meat.” Kylo snorted. “Charred bullshit. Honor the sacrifice of your food, the life given to sustain yours. How would you feel if you died and found out someone burned your body without permission?” Kylo held up a rack of bloody ribs and Rey thought she was going to throw up. “Here. This side is for you.”

“Okay, no. We cook food because it tastes better that way. Our ancestors moved away from raw meat—"

“Yeah, but they continued to drink wolf blood until a few centuries ago, being spooky goofy fools thinking they could take in a wolf’s spirit.”

Rey cocked her head. “That’s the origins of battle magic, isn’t it? Hrægifr?”

“Corpse trolls?” Kylo laughed. “Gods—they truly are making you all stupid,” he spat. “No, battle magic is a force, the Force, connecting all living things.”

“What Ben can use.”

“Not only Ben.” Kylo peered at her. “Aren’t you a living thing, too?” He held the rib up again and Rey shook her head vehemently. Kylo shrugged. “Suit yourself,” he muttered around a bone.

Despite her protest, Rey couldn’t help the rumbling of her stomach. But that didn’t mean she was going to sit there and devour raw meat like some backwater uncultivated wolf. Rey picked up the rack with her fingertips, only then noticing the hallowed-out carcass of a deer dumped by the fire. Deer meat was rare in Core. Matter of fact, it was almost nonexistent.

“We are nowhere near Core, are we?”

Kylo tossed another cleaned rib. “Nope.”

Rey put a hand on her hip. “Are you going to tell me where we are exactly, then?”

Kylo sucked a finger into his mouth, humming. “Somewhere safe,” he said eventually and shot Rey a short smile before going back to work on his food.

Rey growled at the non-answers. Yet, instead of trying to get blood from a stone, answers from a stupid wolf, she held the rack away from her as she approached the fire. Pulling a branch from the birchwood barrier, she skewed the rib through a meaty section, plopped down on one of the stone seats and held her food over the fire.

Ben finished his meal, stepped over his pile of bones, and walked over to the pool. There was a grunt and a splash. Curious, Rey peeked over her shoulder and saw Kylo crouched in the water, rinsing his hands clean, scrubbing his face of blood, and rinsing his mouth free of food. Memories came to her, uninvited, and Rey could see Ben, her Ben, cleansing himself under the waterfall behind the Dyad Pavilion.

Kylo was clearly dressed and didn’t have the poise and grace that Ben held in everything he did, but she could also admit that no matter who was in control of the ship, Ben was a fine, fine specimen.

It was the middle of summer and although it was cooler in the cave, Rey remembered just how humid the air outside was. Kylo was wearing what Ben must have put on before he went to bed—thin black cotton pants and shirt. The seam where his sleeves would be connected to everything else was ragged as if Kylo had ripped off his own sleeves. He wore no shoes, although she did see Ben’s slippers discarded in a corner.

His hair wasn’t in the neat braid or pulled back like Ben liked to wear it. It was wild, all over his head. It looked attacked. It had grown some—where the strands of black used to kiss his shoulders, it now touched right between his shoulder blades. It was still a mess, most of it falling over his forehead and into his face. That besides, Rey stared, no, leered as Kylo splashed water up his arms, and she knew it would never stop amazing her how perfectly and deliciously huge he was. How he was hard muscle and thick legs and a chest that stretched the fabric of his shirt and—Rey frowned. It was not the time to be turned on by the psychopath in the corner.

But gods, would you look at him? It wasn’t fair.

“You keep eying me like that,” Kylo grounded out roughly, suddenly, without actually looking up, “and two things are going to happen. One, I’m going to do what Ben is afraid to do and that’s fuck your brains out. And two, your food is going to burn.”

Rey whirled away from him and towards her food, seeing that the bottom side had begun to char. She quickly rotated the stick and turned it raw side down towards the fire with a little more force than necessary. Bristling. She was bristling on the inside. Kylo was a barbarian, a brute, a classless mongrel, a crass savage!

Not her Ben, not her Ben, not her Ben!

She paused. Your Ben?

Eventually, her food finished, and she pulled it from the fire, giving it a chance to cool before she started picking meat from the bone. While she was enjoying her bland, godsawfully boring meal, a body landed roughly on one of the stone seats to her right and Rey ignored him. Well, as much as she could, because she could feel his gaze on her, burning a hole right through the side of her head.

Sighing, she rotated. He was crouched on the seat—looking just like the wolf he was.

“What, Kylo,” she intoned. He was watching her eat, munching on a twig of mint he got from…hell, who knew? 

“You’re an Omega,” he declared.

And Rey promptly choked on her food. She lurched forward, barely managing to get it down past her throat, tears springing to her eyes before twisting her head back towards him, glaring at him sidelong. “Why are you bringing that up now,” she bit out.

Kylo shrugged. “The fire reminded me of Kira.”

Rey’s disbelief, annoyance, receded just as fast as it stormed in. “Kira.”

“You don’t know your own wolf’s name?”

Not that she didn’t know…she…just hadn’t remembered. “I know who she is. How do you know who she is?”

“I’ve known your wolf longer than you have apparently. Met her. Years ago, at a meeting. Boring, of course, and she must have been bored, too, because she came to the surface, stayed for a coupla’ heartbeats and then left. Told me everything I needed to know about you.”

“Ah,” Rey said quietly. That long, huh? She wondered why he’d never told Ben. Guess it—she—hadn’t mattered two weeks ago.

Then he asked a follow up question that let her know this wasn’t going to be a normal, albeit antagonistic, chat between them. “Why won’t you submit to Ben? He is your Alpha. You are his mate.”

Intended, Rey wanted to remind him, but she didn’t think Kylo cared. She tore another piece of bland, unseasoned meat off her rack and stuffed it in her mouth to avoid answering right away. She swallowed roughly. “I…I’m not his equal. We should not be mates to begin with.”

Kylo tilted his head, obviously waiting for more, but when Rey offered him nothing vast, useless silence, he looked at her like that was the stupidest answer he’d ever heard. “Who the hell cares about that? What does that even mean, equal? No such thing. We just got roles. Don’t make me better than you.”

This time Rey turned completely towards Kylo, examining how simply he thought. Of course, a wolf wouldn’t care about the complexities of shifter interactions: social norms, rules, traditions. Their wolves didn’t care about politics, they didn’t care that this person controlled this town or that person collected this tax. They cared about their pack, their territory, the hunt, their mate and their offspring. Everything else was bullshit.

“You don’t understand. How could you? Ben cares, everyone cares. They may not know but when they do, they’ll care. Laws—we have laws that discipline for deceit. And I haven’t just lied to Ben. I’ve lied to all of Core. Decade after decade I’ve lied to them. If I’m found out, I’ll be punished. Executed possibly.”

A bit of red spilled into the pools of gold in Kylo’s eyes before it abated. “That’s not going to happen. That’s why you are here. No one can touch you here. I won’t let them.” He leaned forward, a touch menacing, as if he could scare her into believing him. “You’re mine. They can’t touch what’s mine.”

She smiled. It was kind of endearing. Kylo was kind of endearing. Infuriating but endearing—like a puppy who’d caught ahold of your pant leg and wouldn’t let go.

Rey could, if she wanted, stay in this unknown cave, hidden away from everything and everyone. She could. It would be so easy. Kylo would take care of her, care for her. She’d never want for anything—except spices, which could effortlessly be fixed—and she’d never be in danger ever again.

“It’s not that easy, Kylo,” she sighed. Nothing ever was. “I can promise you they are looking for us right now. And one day they will track us down—you, Ben, me. We are the leaders of Core. Prophesied. I can’t just run away. We have to go back.”

Kylo stood tall on his stone seat, his entire body tense with a simplistic sort of stubbornness that rivaled Rey’s. “No,” he snarled. “Nihil tut’jahli.”

“Yeah. I don’t know what that means. I didn’t know what it meant when you abducted me and I don’t know what it means now. Saying it over and over doesn’t mean it’ll convince me we can stay.”

“We are in Ossus, the Wander’s land and that is their language.”

“Okay. But why do you know it?”

“I…got sent away as a kid while my parents figured…stuff out. Nihil tut’jahli means let no harm come to pass. It’s a vow Wanderers take when they pick a mate. Pact of protection. That’s why you can’t go back. Besides,” he said, inclining his head haughtily, a move she knew he’d adopted from Ben. “Kira doesn’t want to go back. I can tell.”

“It’s amazing you know so much about my wolf.” Rey shook her head. “I haven’t felt Kira in decades. How is it that you have this connection with her that I don’t? That I can’t have. Explain that to me.”

Kylo dropped back down to his crouch. “Tell me why you suppress Kira and I’ll tell you why I can still sense her.”’

Rey pinched the bridge of her nose because she was having a conversation with a wolf that she hadn’t had with a human in years. Well, at least she knew he wasn’t going to go running his snout to everyone in Core.

“My family—the Kenobis—we’ve always been a family of Alphas. From my great grandfather, Lem, my grandfather Obi-wan, my father, Brenton, my sister, Coriander, her mate, Julien. Even my mother was an Alpha. I…I don’t remember much about my mother except that it was very hard for her to conceive, and when she did, no one could believe it.”

“The female Alphan womb is…unstable,” Kylo said, uncomfortably, quietly.

Rey nodded. “Resistant—the walls are very thin. Without a heat, it never thickens. That’s why children born of Alphan women are almost nonexistent. That’s why everyone thinks Alphan women are lying when they grow heavy with child. Trickery, they say. Fools. But Mom did it. Twice! I was very young when she was killed. But...that’s—” Rey sighed. “That’s not. The point is, I’m supposed to be an Alpha. Everything about my family says that is what I’m supposed to be. It was the very reason my family was chosen to lead Takodana—because of that pure lineage. We were pure wolves and that’s what the First Order demanded.”

“First Order?” Kylo tilted his head. “Bazine,” he growled. “The bitch from the feast.”

“That word is not—” Rey sighed. “Yes, her.”

“You’re telling me she wants to kill you because you ain’t “pure”. Like your father and your mother and sister?”

Rey’s brows rose. “That’s exactly why. So, to protect me from them, my father had a special doctor in our town create a suppressant for me. It masked my scent, changed it to what you smell today. The consequence of that was pushing Kira so far down in my soul that I can’t feel her.”

Silence settled between them where Kylo stared at her and she had no choice but to stare back, desperately wanting his opinion. Golden eyes captured her through strands of hair and Rey felt like Kylo was reading her in a way that she’d never been read before. In the simplest way possible, with everything boiled down to its basic components.

Silently, he hopped down from the stone seat and crossed the space between them until he was standing in front of her. For the first time, Rey took the time to really inhale Ben’s scent, which always permeated just a bit stronger when Kylo was in control. It was a pleasant smell, comforting in a peculiar way. But it calmed her, and she realized that she felt more at ease with Kylo than most people in her life. The rawness of it all.

Kylo bent forward until his face hovered in front of hers and Rey held steady. He took a hand and carded it through his long hair, pushing it back from his face—revealing those lovely eyes, and that beautiful nose, and those gorgeous lips—and tucked it behind his ear.

So focused on the things she wasn’t supposed to be—like his lips—that she jumped when she felt his finger tap the center of her forehead.

“Get out of your head, Rey Kenobi. You are your heart.”

His hand, large with long fingers, trailed down, calloused fingers traveling past her temple, ghosting over her cheekbones and feathering down her neck until he laid it flat across her sternum. “Kira is your heart. When you let go of all that bullshit, your reservations, doubting yourself, not trusting yourself—that’s when you’ll feel her again. Then you’ll be able to love. Yourself and Ben.” His hand stayed there, and he patted her chest in a soothing fashion, like you would a baby’s back. “Ben is a good human. He is my human. Trust him.”

“You think it’s that easy, huh?”

“I don’t think. I know.”

Rey’s hand came up to join Kylo’s. “You know, when you’re not yelling that ‘You are mine, submit to me!!!” bullshit, you’re a pretty good guy.”

“Wolf,” Kylo said gruffly. “I’m a wolf.”

Rey chuckled. “Right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> Jai Dathomirian for JEDI  
> [Hrægifr ](https://protectthewolves.com/65-interesting-facts-about-wolves/)65 Fun Facts about Wolves!  
> [ Ossus](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Ossus)  
> _____________________________  
> Come say hi to my on Twitter. I'm all over the place but I'll talk to you about anything LOL @BlackNerdJade


	12. roar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MORE INUYASHA SOLO, folks.  
> Also Poe and Finn  
> And Rose and Armitage
> 
> And SURPRIsE CHARACTERS  
> and HOLY CRAP, this is a long chapter.

“They have been missing for _three_ days, Poe. Three! The Mating Moon is just over a week away. No time at all! Kylo has kidnapped the fucking Alpha prime of Core and you are sitting here… _writing_.”

Yes. He was writing. Well, was. He looked down and saw big blooming petals of black stretching their inky fingers across his parchment where he should have lifted his quill. He hadn’t. Because Finn was yelling at him, _had_ been yelling at him, and didn’t look to be stopping anytime soon.

He wanted to kick Finn out of his damn room so he could concentrate or take a pillow and drag it through his ears so that it would be quiet for once. However, this was supposed to be a sort of pre-honeymoon for them. Romantic and alluring and anticipating. And here he was. Writing—which had brought Finn’s wrath down on his head.

Poe placed the quill down, pushed most of the papers aside and peered up at the other man, trying desperately to convey a cool head. “Someone has to keep this place running in his absence, Finn,” he tried, his voice low and even and…the opposite of everything Finn was doing. “You accepted a position under them, and I don’t come running to you telling you how to do your job every time you do something I don’t like. I accepted this position in their pack. Ben appointed me, just as Rey appointed you. Ben, who is missing as well, in case you forgot—"

“Yeah! Because his wolf stole off in the middle of the goddamned night! That’s why!”

“—and while he is gone, his work falls to me. Hux is handling Rey’s work, and Phasma is overseeing the search party. If you want to nag someone, nag _her_.”

“He’s _your_ best friend!” Finn slammed his hands down on Poe’s study. “How can you sit here and scribble out bullshit about edicts and bylaws when he’s gone? You should try caring!”

“Oh, now you care about Ben. Great.” Without even realizing he’d done it, until it was far too late—setting him back at least an hour—he’d crumpled the paper he was working on in a fist. “What do you want me to do, Finn? Get out there myself and join the search party? How would that help? Tell me. Phasma is the best hunter in Core, if not her, Torben or Siv are! And she has ten people with her! There is _nothing_ I can do but my job!” He picked his quill back up. “And that’s what I’m going to do!”

“You idiot shithead,” Finn seethed before he turned on his heels and stormed out of Poe’s suite. As the door slammed, Poe brought the heel of his hand to his forehead.

This was the tail end of it all. It started because Finn had refused to inform him of the issues with Rey’s medication. No. Take that back. This all happened because Bazine managed to poison Rey in the first place, and his position as Imperial General meant he oversaw the Guard. Well, then, you can imagine Finn blamed him for that, too. 

And the fact that Finn wanted him to find Rey _right_ that instance had sparked an argument so chaotic that when it boiled out into the Dyad Pavilion, it took three guards to keep them from ripping into each other.

Ah. Young love.

To make matters worse, he was now overlooking a writ from Alderaan. They’d raised up a new Alpha. Poe recognized the name—Dal Konur, a man raised as Ben’s stepbrother for many years. Normally, Ben, as the former Alpha of Alderaan, would have traveled to the clan to oversee the final rounds of the tournament. Yet with him missing, the Elders of Alderaan completed the accession without him.

The man gets missing for a few days and everything started looking funny in the light.

Poe blew out an exhausted sighed. His mess looked like this:

He hadn’t slept in three days.

His best friend was missing.

His missing best friend’s wolf had kidnapped Ben’s mate—score two for Kylo fucking shit up!

Some Alderaanian castaway had become one of the most powerful people in Core.

Finn was barely talking to him and if he was, he was screaming.

And Lando was asking questions he wasn’t prepared to answer.

No one in Core or the Imperial Fortress—without the proper authority—knew Ben and Rey were missing, which was good, very, _very_ good, because Poe couldn’t imagine the sure level of outright panic their highest leaders being AWOL would cause.

The bad news was, with no one knowing they were missing, they were missing out on a lot of vital clues. There was practically no scent trail—as if Kylo knew exactly what to do to disappear.

Nonetheless, Poe had faith in the search party. They would find them.

He hoped.

But right now? He had a _slightly_ more pressing personal issue to handle. No one would ever say Poe was selfless.

Praying to _manda_ for protection, Poe made his way out of his suite en route to Finn’s room to apologize. For what? Who knew? But sometimes Finn just wanted to hear an apology for the simple act of him being shown deference for one, and Poe figured he could try that tactic now.

Finn didn’t have a room inside the Dyad Pavilion like everyone else, as he wasn’t a member of the Dyad Bone Pack. However, because he was indispensable and irreplaceable, he’d been given even better accommodations than most. His suite, adjacent to the _Pavilion de Vidua,_ wasa luxuriantgazebo shaped dwelling that almost rivaled the size of the Dyad’s. However, despite the splendor provided to him in that suite, Finn had spent most, if not all, of his nights in Poe’s suite.

That was until the Dyad Couple’s disappearance. Now, his intended mate was well acquainted with his own living quarters, much to Poe’s ever-fucking-love chagrin.

The kitchen kept the _Pavilion de Vidua_ court both warm and fragrant. Right now, the smell of fresh baked _jogan_ tarts and chocolate sauces was his companion on his journey. He considered stopping by and asking them for some—Finn loved _jogan_ fruit cake—but decided against it because Finn didn’t do bribes.

And it most certainly would have been a bribe. 

As he raised his hand to knock on the door, Zorri, Finn’s assistant answered the door before his knuckles could hit the wood. There was a knowing look in her eyes, just visible beyond her face veil and chain but she didn’t say anything. Zorri smirked, laid her book to the side and guided him in.

The room was much nicer than he’d expected, Poe had to admit that. White marble shot through with pale tan veins, like golden blood, framed a backdrop rich in shades of burnt sienna and salamander orange. Against the wall was a long wooden table cut in a style his grandmother would recognize— marquetry, she would say—that was covered with vials and jars, some filled with liquids of varying colors much like he would find at Maz’s shop. There was a huge mortar and pestle next to a basket full of herbs, leaves and flowers. Finn, to Poe, was a mad scientist, a _brilliant_ mad scientist, and he was so damn proud to be the one Finn had chosen in the end.

As Poe took a seat at a set of plush armchairs, the door connecting the sitting room he was in to Finn’s bedroom was yanked open and a less than pleased Omega sauntered through the door. Poe could practically smell the displeasure, something sour that made him wrinkle his nose, but also made his heart quicken, because his Omega was displeased, _with him_ , and that did not feel good.

Finn stared at him like he was considering which emotion was the right one, and ended up with a glower, a stern frown and brown eyes practically glowing with anger. To capitulate to his own irritation, he also decided to be a petty little brat, dragging the chair next to Poe’s away and whipping it around to face him. Probably so he could glare properly.

“That didn’t take long,” Finn said, arms crossed, offering Poe his profile. Inwardly, he sighed. Finn had the cutest nose and the cutest lips and his _ears_.

“Oh, you were expecting me?” Poe asked, dryly.

Finn shrugged. “Here to offer me an empty apology like you always do? Yeah, I expected it.”

One of Poe’s brows rose. “I would offer you a _real_ one if I felt the need to apologize but it is a well-known fact that you like it when I kiss your ass, so here I am.”

Finn’s head rotated towards him slowly, and Poe had the unique impression that he’d been caught in a hunter’s trap. He pinned Poe with a hot stare, lip curled back to reveal a fang. “No matter what method of ass kissing you planned on employing, I can tell you you’re starting off on the wrong damn foot.”

It was Poe’s turn to shrug. “You don’t want an empty apology. So, fuck if I know what you really want. But I’m here! So, just tell me what to do so you can stop moping.”

“Moping.” Finn pursed his lips, and his fingers tightened around the arms of the chair. “You can leave.”

“Finn, no, I’m—” Poe called out, hands extended, waving Finn down like an angry _rancor_. “I did not come here to fight with you, but I didn’t come here to kiss your ass, either—"

Poe could almost hear Finn’s hands tightening, like he could press the wood between his fingers to nothing.

“Okay, okay! I did! I was going to apologize for _whatever_ you’re angry about and hope it was enough to make you stop being mad at me. But you don’t want that so...I don’t know! But I meant it. Please tell me what you want me to do, Finn. I’m stressed and angry and I’m tired, I’m so tired. It’s been three days and you keep sleeping here,” and he waved a hand, disgusted, “and I can’t sleep without you, and everyone is expecting something from me. It didn’t use to be you but now it _is_ you. I am lost.” _Please help me._

Some of the ire left Finn’s face, but not all of it. Poe could tell he was tittering on a precipice and with one wrong word, he could fall over or be saved.

“If I could—could stretch my hand out over Core, somehow find Rey for you, I would. I promise you I would, but I can’t. All I can do is do what I know how to do, and that’s lead.” Finn’s face didn’t change, there was no understanding reflecting in his eyes. The bottom of a death pit it was. Poe sighed, stood and rotated away because he was letting _so_ many people down and he didn’t want Finn to see what that was doing to him. “I’m sorry I can’t make you happy right now. “

“Dameron…”

Poe whipped around immediately.

“I’m scared,” Finn admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. He’d drawn a leg up onto the chair, lavender cotton pants and no shoes. He draped his arm over his knee and his chin rested in the crevice of his elbow. “I keep Rey’s secret because it’s the kind thing to do. It’s not hard to not run your mouth and frankly, it should be nobody business what her designation is. I _protect_ her, though, because she is my friend, my dearest friend, and she has had a hard life, harder than anyone I’ve ever known. The thought of her being out there, alone and scared, with all of this shit going on with her body…I just…I want her safe.”

Poe returned to his seat but instead of sitting down, he picked it up and dropped it directly in front of Finn’s, so close his knees bracketed Finn’s. “She’s not alone,” Poe reminded him as he took both of Finn’s hands into his own. “We both know Ben wouldn’t hurt her.”

“She’s not with Ben. She’s with Kylo.”

“We don’t know that…”

“You’ve known Ben most of his life. Would he just up and disappear? Would he abandon everything on a whim? No. He wouldn’t. He is responsible, selfless, beholden to people other than himself. But Kylo? He would throw everything away. He would do _anything_ to protect…” Finn trailed off, the realization creeping over his face, slow, like the warm rays of the sun rising. “Kylo would do anything to protect Rey,” he finished quietly.

Poe brought one of Finn’s hands to his lips, kissing it across his knuckles. “See. She’s not alone. She’s probably safer with Kylo than she is here.”

Finn scowled. “I gave that mongrel some credit so please stop while you are ahead! We still need to find her and bring her back. Kylo is strong but there are people out there who would love to see Rey dead.”

Poe nodded. Finn was right. Things weren’t safe for Rey _or_ Ben outside of the Imperial Fortress, no matter how powerful they were. But Poe also held the belief that no matter what, they were destined to lead this clan collective. “So, my real goal was to come in here and make you not mad at me. Is it working? Was I successful?”

Finn tilted his head as if he was thinking so Poe pulled closer to him and pouted. When Finn continued to look at him, looking flat and unimpressed, Poe poked his lip out further and whined. “Please, Finnie…”

Finn rolled his eyes and pushed his shoulder. “Yeah, yeah,” he said as he stood. “You’re forgiven. Stop sounding so pitiful.”

Poe smiled, bright and hopeful and pleased, and when Finn returned it, he knew that they were okay. But he wasn’t done making up. He waited until Finn appeared completely unarmed, relaxed in a way when he wasn’t planning on ripping Poe’s head off, before grabbing his wrist and tugged on it hard. With a yelp, Finn fell backwards, landing in his lap. Finn spent a few good seconds trying to escape but relented after Poe wasted no time arranging him how he wanted him, wrapping his arms around his waist and pulling him close.

“This feels nice,” Poe whispered in his ear, satisfied that he had him where he wanted him all along. “I missed you, Finn.”

Finn sighed as he fell back deeper into Poe’s embrace. “I missed you, more.”

Poe chucked. “Impossible,” he mouthed against his neck. “Simply, impossible.” Impulsively, Poe kicked a stripe up Finn’s neck. Finn, surprisingly, tilted his head to the side, allowing Poe better access.

The sound of a glass breaking in the kitchen must have broken Finn out of his trance because he sat up abruptly, looking around like they had spectators before pushing at Poe’s wandering hands away. “We can’t do this here. Zorri is right outside that door! The kitchen is just a few feet away,” he hissed.

“So?” Poe said as he tugged Finn back into his embrace. “Let them hear us.”

Finn’s mouth dropped open. “You may get to hide in your great Pavilion and behind your new title, but I have to see and work with these people every day! I’m not going to be heard _panting_ like some cat.”

Poe could hardly afford to care. “I really love you, Finn, you know that?” Poe whispered before flattening his tongue against Finn’s ear. “You know one thing I love the most?”

Finn was silent, more uneven gasping breaths that Poe loved to hear, but it wasn’t what Poe wanted to hear right now. “I asked you a question, honey,” he demanded, as his slipped a hand down…down…down

Finn inhaled sharply, his back bowing away from Poe’s chest. “W—what do you love the most?” Finn gasped, his hands running up and down Poe’s thighs as if he was going to jump out of his skin.

“The noises you make.”

In the end, Poe was sure _everyone_ heard them. Or Finn rather. The walls were thin, and Finn’s orgasms were always punctuated with a deep, keening wail that got down into the very marrow of Poe’s bones. Finn was slumped in his lap, limp and sated, the evidence of Poe’s wandering, skillful hands dotted across the back of his tanned skin in curving ribbons of white. He was tempted to clean himself with his tongue, but he had things to do and just the _taste_ of Finn would end up with him…not getting those things done. Skillfully, while Finn was still weak in the afterglow, he scooped him up, carried him to his bedroom, and laid him down across his bed.

“When I return, I want you back in my suite.” He bent down and laid a kiss against his intended’s temple and Finn mewled like the cat he said he wasn’t. “That wasn’t a request.”

“When you get back?” He frowned, eyes flitting from Poe to the sheets. “You’re not coming to bed?” His eyes dropped to Poe’s crotch.”

Poe looked down, too. _Well_.

“Where are you going?”

This time, Poe kissed him and soundly, following him as Finn sunk back in the pillows. He batted Finn’s arms away when they reached to wrap around his neck. If Finn wanted him to find his best friend, then he had to actually work. “To arrange for more shifters for the search.” If he sent word out now, he could have the additional help meet Phasma halfway. “I’ll be back by tonight.”

“But…”

Poe bopped him on the nose and if Finn wasn’t still a heap of lax limb, he probably would have frowned. “You convinced me with all the noise you made for me,” he saw low and easy, and he watched the heat curl like pale smoke in Finn’s eyes. “It’s the least I can do.”

As mission leader, Rose was prepared. They’d been on Bazine’s tail for a week now. Due to the command from Dyad, she and her dancers had been freed to go back to wherever they came from. Ben may have not known much about the First Order the night Rey was poisoned, but he’d learned enough from Paige to be able to track them to the forests bordering Nymeve Lake.

Yes, he’d let her go as promised, but it didn’t mean their leader wasn’t going to make Bazine pay for what she did.

Rose was slightly familiar with the small clan of mercenaries seeing as her sister was Rey’s First. After their clan had been destroyed in over lingering bad blood from the second Shifter War, both Rose and Paige had wandered all over Core, angry and motivated by the injustice they’d face. It wasn’t until the clan who’d murdered their kin came looking for them as, did they decide to split up, out of a sense of wanting their bloodline to continue, but also praying it would aid in the survival of the other. Paige ended up in Takodana, Rose, Mandalore. Two completely different places, with completely different ethos. But it allowed Paige to be fierce under Rey’s leadership, and allowed Rose to inject some sense of compassion to the soldiers under her in Mandalore.

Having a sister in Takodana meant that sometimes Rose spent time in Endor, Takodana’s neighbor. It’s where, as a woman leaving behind her teenage years, she meant Armitage. The fucking devil at the time.

Things had changed now. But sometimes she thought about how arrogant and uncaring he’d been as a young man and she wanted to throttle him. He was still arrogant, do not be fooled, but so much kinder—his version of kind, anyways—and gentler than he was in his youth. Mellowed out by being shown what love was supposed to look like.

But…that was over with.

Rose glanced down at her map and then at the forest of Nymeve. They were deep past the forest line, the air growing humid as they neared the lake. That meant they were almost close enough to First Order territory to begin practicing extreme caution. Another half mile or so and there would be no turning back. A few miles back, they’d dropped from immediately following as Rose commanded some space between them and the party. Then she ordered camp to be set up so they could plan the last stages of their reconnaissance.

Their mission was simply. As soon as they were all prepared, they would infiltrate into First Order territory in teams of two. The main objective was to bring back as much information as they could gather about the mercenary group—their numbers, how they operated, who was the leader. Phasma and Hux believed it was Bazine, rather than Rey’s uncle Gallius, but in Rose’s experience, no leader was brazen enough as to publicly threaten a member of the High Council of Core, let alone the Dyad Couple. But then again, apparently no group was as brazen as the First Order.

The quiet crunch of footsteps over dried grass broke Rose out of her musing. Snap.His name was Snap, a high ranking guard who served as Ap’lek’s right hand.

“You’re originally from Takodana, aren’t you?” Rose asked in lieu of a welcome as he approached. Obviously, he’d come over there to talk to her about something different because a look of shock registered on his face before he recovered. “I’m sure there’s things you’ve heard about the First Order that outsiders wouldn’t know.”

Snap came abreast of her, looking out over Nyveme, a frown on his face. He was a big man, tall, wide, soft, but Rose wasn’t about to embarrass herself looking up at him. “You don’t know much about Takodana before the Alpha Prime became Alpha of our clan because _we_ don’t know much. The older folks might, but when we ask, they say there is nothing worth telling and anything worth telling shouldn’t be told. Apparently, there was a recording of what happened, but it was burned the same night Rey found out about the Ovanis loan. It’s all a dead trail and it will be until Rey lifts the silence order.”

Rose nodded, expecting that answer. 

“How long do you think this will take?”

Rose looked up at the moon’s position in the sky, dipping westward, white light shining through the canopy at an angle. “Tonight, maybe. Tomorrow. Any information we collect must be collected before the Mating Moon.” 

Snap lit up at that. “Ah, yes! A very auspicious occasion, is it not? Do you have anyone special, Rose? If you don’t mind me asking?” 

She did mind.

Snap hummed as if her silence were answer enough. His head craned back, looking east while she looked west, staring up at the stars, a goofy expression on his face. “I have someone, but…it’s not the year for us. He’s a part of the Hux clan…and, well, his guardian won’t allow any of them to mate until Armitage does and Brendol is so useless that he doesn’t even realize what she’s doing.”

Something sour swirled in the pit of Rose’s stomach. She hated hearing that Armitage was betrothed to someone else. Hated it. _Hated_ it. Hated that she couldn’t react, hated that she couldn’t scream how she didn’t approve, how it was a stupid arrangement, how she _loved_ Armitage. But she couldn’t, and she wouldn’t. “Ah, how unfortunate.”

“Yeah,” Snap said, rubbing the back of his head with a gloved hand. “We agreed to wait until the year after next, once I’ve saved enough for a house to be built.” Silence followed that, and Rose was going to take it as permission to walk away, when Snap muttered, “It kind of sucks though.”

Rose’s brow rose. “It’s just a year or two. It’ll be here before you know it.”

“A year or—” Confusion crossed his face for a moment before he chuckled. “Oh, no. Not for us. Not that. We’ll be fine. I mean, it sucks for Kyp.”

Rose was the one confused now. “Why would your mating suck for Kyp?” 

“Not my mating,” he said with amused exasperation. “Hux’s. You see,” Snap put an arm around Rose's shoulder—and Rose had the faint temptation to bite him for it—before pulling her further away from the tent where Jaina and Kyp were chatting animatedly about something. “Kyp is…well, he’s kind of, you know, in love with Vaylin. Hux’s intended? They’ve spent almost every summer together in the caves, falling in love and all that shit right up until Kyp was made Hux’s First. Two summers later, Rae Sloane and her Shadow Council were declaring the intended mating between Brendon Hux’s son and the heir of the Eternal Empire. To help rebuild some alliance destroyed during the First Shifter War. So, imagine—your Alpha being paired with the person you’re in love with. I mean that _really_ sucks, man.”

Rose wanted to feel sorry for Kyp, she did, and she would, eventually, because if anyone else knew how he felt, it was her. However, she came here for a reason and tonight was not the night to dwell on how much it all did…well, suck. “That’s…tragic.” This time she did take a step away from Snap, walking back into their camp. Jaina and Kyp’s conversation dwindled off.

“It’s time,” Jaina said, more statement than question. 

Rose nodded. “Heading out tonight means we can be back in Core by sun fall tomorrow. Plenty of time before the Mating Moon.” Rose turned towards the small surveillance party. “Everyone ready?”

Jaina stood while Kyp worked on putting out their small fire. As soon as everyone was prepared to head out, Rose walked to a tree. “As discussed, we are traveling into First Order territory by treetop. Jaina has made sure that our scent will be shielded every time we leave this campground, so remember, the olfas around your neck will block your scent going in and coming back. Also, if you are separated from your team member, return to this spot. Jaina, Kyp, you have the north and west gates. Snap and I will take the south and eastern gates. We return here at the hour of the ox.”

Rose took to her tree and looked up at the large trunk, poised to climb. Before she took a step, she looked back at her team. “Good luck everyone.”

Kylo was born in Dathomir, a child with no name.

As a son of Dathomir, Kylo had a higher access to a phenomenon called battle magic, or a simpler older term, the Force. It was something he had to hide for a while after he became Ben, because the Force was coveted by those who were good and by those who were bad. Still, they found out. Snoke found out and because Leia was still bound to him, Ben was his, and by that, Ben’s power was his.

Leia _had_ to allow Snoke access to her son…unless she removed him from Snoke’s reach. Which she did.

For many years, Ben, Kylo, was sent away learning to find balance within the Force, something that Snoke had tried to taint towards the shadows. When he returned, Ben’s memory of the place was hidden, to protect the location of Ossus, a Force nexus.

But Kylo remembered.

Kylo remembered these woods and this exact cave, littered among a hundred others, like he remembered first holding a sword. The cave—Nihil—was an intricate thing, four levels up from the earth’s surface while burrowing an uncanny sixteen levels into the ground.

He doesn’t know how or if it was built, a natural occurrence or the unending work of ancient shifters. No one really did. The people here haven’t kept history books since the day the _Rammahgon_ was removed from the lands. When he was younger, Kylo wondered why. Maybe because no one was ever meant to stay here their entire lives. Everyone wandered—from the youngest pup to the oldest shifter. _Everyone_ wandered. Some acclimated their way into other villages, rising to something they could never be in Ossus, sheltered in Nihil. Some wandered to destinations unknown, to never be seen again. Some returned to this place time after time, reforging their roots, only to wander again.

Most returned, those who had not attached themselves to a place or a person, to their home, a familiar bed that would help ease their transition into the eternal caves.

Yet, this place was never empty, a cycle of entering and exiting that promised Nihil would always be taken care of. However, of all the shifters here, Kylo was looking for one in particular. 

Rey fared exiting the cave well enough, even though she struggled to catch her breath when they were finally at ground level. Whoever had built the caves had built the most infuriatingly intricate stair system, connecting every corner and every level with a forethought that would put the building guild in Takodana to shame. It was a most taxing venture, climbing sixteen flights of zigzagging stairs to the surface and she’d done it without much complaint—other than telling Kylo to slow down! No person that…massive should be able to move that fast!

She followed Kylo from the mouth of the cave, another set of stone steps leading to the flat plains of Ossus. Then it was another hike down a twisting trail littered with thick vegetation and grabby shrubbery that had to delight in tripping her up by reaching for her ankles with their thin, sharp branches.

When they came to a forest and Kylo still forged ahead, Rey had no choice but to speak up.

“Kylo,” she said, a hand parked over her brow to block out an oppressive sun. “I know we… talked and shared like a bunch of giggling children yesterday and I can see how that gave you the impression that everything is peachy keen and all. But it isn’t. I’m not all that inclined to travel in any direction that isn’t towards Core. And this isn’t in the direction of Core, is it?”

Kylo grunted a very unhelpful answer as he tore away at a thick branch snaking across the path. It came up root and all and was toss backed into the brush.

“Fine!” Rey yelled from behind him. “Don’t talk! It’s much too hot to process your barbaric growling, anyway.”

Kylo stopped with an exaggerated sigh. “We are looking for my mother.”

“Your…your _mother_?” Rey stopped short. “You know where your mother is?”

“She is here.”

“How do you know that? Ben never mentioned—”

“That’s because Ben only knows what Leia allowed him to remember. And his time here is a secret.”

“And she came here?” Rey repeated, disbelieving.

Kylo didn’t so much as nod but flick his head back towards the path ahead. The thick of the forest was ahead and even Rey would appreciate the shade. “I’m following her scent. I picked it up at the caves. But she wasn’t there. So, I keep trying. Every time I go hunting, I try.”

Rey didn’t believe it was possible that Kylo could track his mother’s scent down, because she didn’t believe he could remember it after all these years. Not when she couldn’t remember her mother’s scent nor face. But she wasn’t going to say that—it was inconsequential. So, she asked another question instead. “Where are we, again? Not the name, I got that. I mean specifically _where_. Coordinates, directions, stars to look at.”

His eyes narrowed as he looked back at her. “If I tell you where you are…are you going to run?”

Rey snorted. “Run? Oh, yes! How smart you must think I am to run off in lands I don’t know with a crazed wolf on my ass who can track down scents from his past.”

“You are smart, Rey. You’re just not smart all the time. So, I have to ask,” he grunted.

She was much, much smarter than him, that’s for sure! “No, I’m not going to run, you big, lumbering son of a tree demon! I expect at some point, you’ll use what little brain you have access to, to realize we belong back in Core. Then I won’t have to run away. You’ll bring me back.” 

He leveled a glare at her, a mix of annoyance and astonishment on his face. She figured that Kylo thought that would intimidate or cower her, but he should be getting used to the fact that whatever terror he’d instilled in her in the past was nonexistent. Still, he recognized that Rey was no longer smiling, her posture rigid, her foot tapping in staccato, a clear sign of impatience. “Three days ride from north from Kashyyyk, then two days west, a half quarter hike south, then another day march northeast then southwest then—"

Rey cut him off because none of that made any sense. None of it. He literally walked in circles getting here! “What kind of _kriffing_ direction are those? Do you have a map? A—a guide? What stars could I follow? What?”

“All that should matter to you is I know the way and I can get there much faster than prescribed.”

A smirk slinked up one side of Rey’s face, a vine with sweet, sweet fruit at the end. “Hm,” Rey said, peering down at her nails. “Sounds like you’ve considered going back home.”

“Home,” Kylo growled in disgust before turning on his heels and doubling his efforts to get to wherever the hell he was headed to deeper in the forest. 

They came to a clearing, dusted with weedflowers and dots of white from dandelions. Kylo headed to the center of the clearing and turned north, east, south, and west like a broken compass. Just like the other times, it took about an hour to get to the clearing from the edge of the forest. There were neighboring clans in Ossus—the Murkhana, the Belderones, Galidaraan and Liannas, and they usually left well enough alone. But he wasn’t about to tip toe onto their territories. He didn’t hold the weight here that he once did. They would not listen to him. So, Kylo found the center of the clearing and took a seat. 

Rey, looking somewhat delighted to find such a beautiful place in a land filled with such wild vegetation, but also confused, walked up to him, staring down at him like the answers she wanted were writing on top of his head. When he didn’t answer or acknowledge her, she bent over, brown hair creating a curtain behind her, her face now all in his space. “How do you plan on tracking your mother down by taking a squat in the middle of the forest?”

“Quit talking,” Kylo muttered as he closed his eyes. He wasn’t aware how competent Rey was with the use of battle magic he felt in her, nor was he sure if she knew the power mediation brought but he needed to concentrate, to hear every sound, feel every vibration all around him. And he couldn’t do that with Rey yapping away at her jaw.

“You’re in a lovely mood today.” Eventually, Rey plopped down in the grass, a fragrant cloud of weedflowers flying into the air, swirling and mixing with her scent. That helped, a tempest of calm energy wrapping around him.

She was quiet for a long stretch, and he was appreciative, but he should have known that wouldn’t have lasted long. She scrambled to her feet like she couldn’t take another second of just being still. He’d have to work on that with her. “You might be able to sit here and become one with nature, but I can’t. I’m bored. I’m going to go gather some berries and herbs. That way I won’t have to suffer through another bland meal of yours.”

“Don’t wander far.”

“I’m a big girl. Concentrate on finding your mother.” 

Kylo grunted by way of answering but the grunt lodged itself behind his throat when he felt her hands on the side of his face, and a warm kiss to the crown of his head, like someone would kiss their mate goodbye. His eyes popped open and he stared at her, shocked, as she disappeared into the trees, her silk pajamas and borrowed boots painting the green with soft pink and black.

Kylo tried to fight the grin on his face. “Stupid emotions,” he muttered before closing his eyes again and focusing. 

So far, nothing. The problem with this was, he was trying to track down a scent that held hints of his mother—the Rose Oil of Amidala—a scent built into their bloodline. It was a combination of two scents, the outcome of a true mate bond. His grandmother's sweet briar scent was soft and gentle, but enduring, while his grandfather's scent was crisp and smokey, layering over hers, a protective shield of heady argan. It was faint, but it was ever present, and it terminated here in this clearing. Armed with that knowledge, Kylo doubled down on his absorption of stimulants around him, stretching his senses as far as could, using his grandparents as a guide.

Minutes, hours, seconds could have passed with Kylo deep in meditation, yet he sensed nothing further than this clearing. Shit. He’d try again tomorrow. And the day after that, and the day after that. He may have unwittingly admitted he would eventually take Rey home, but he didn’t say _when_.

And he was hungry. In the past, Ben had been trained to ignore hunger, even pain, but just because Kylo could dismiss the rumblings of his stomach, didn’t mean he had to. He uncondensed his levels of sensory searching, brought his focus back center to the clearing by storing his grandparents’ scents away.

Then it happened.

He felt one thing—Rey’s heartbeat elevated. He wasn’t Ben so there were things about imprints he didn’t understand, other than whatever she was doing, she needed to be careful, slow down, relax. He’d be so crossed if she ran or tripped and twisted an ankle. But then again, if that happened, then he’d have to carry her home, and he had no complaints about Rey willingly holding herself against him.

The other thing was a weird scent that magnified itself once he began assessing all the scents around him. It was something strange…jolting, pungent. Homing in on it, Kylo winced. It was musty, like wet fur, and came from a large source. There was the after scent of fermented fruit, tangy, bitter, and sharp. He snorted. _A drunk bear shifter._ Great.

Bears were, irritatingly enough, the distant cousins of wolves, and for a faint, terrifying moment, Kylo feared that the scent he was chasing was coming from the beast. Communication between the two species had always been antagonistic and he could imagine trying to talk to the damned thing after confusing it for his long-lost mother. The dumb thing wouldn’t understand.

Sighing, Kylo stood and dusted off his pants. “Rey!” he called from the direction he saw her disappear. “Get back here. We need to go.” He stood in the clearing, right where she’d left him, so she wouldn’t get lost or have to look for him, but after minutes of waiting begrudgingly, he felt his temper slip. “Stop fucking around! We need to leave.” 

No answer. Nothing.

His eyes jutted back and forth. Silence.

The same sort of panic he’d felt the night in the Grand Assembly Room returned, surging through his like a peal of lightning. He dropped to a knee and his palm to the ground, trying to feel the earth for anything—vibrations, rumblings, a disturbance in the Force. 

_Running…someone…someone was running_.

Kylo closed his eyes and stretched his senses out again, this time, searching for another scent, wild, unfathomable, vastly unique. What returned almost caused him to choke.

_Fear._

“Rey!” 

Kylo tore off into the woods following her scent like a ravage dog hunting a meal. He ran as fast as his body allowed him to, dipping into his reserves of battle magic, ripping through bushes, barreling through trees as he went.

Then the scent…disappeared.

“Rey!” he screamed. He slid down a moss-covered hill, landing roughly on a path of hard packed dirt. “Where are you?” He looked around, he looked everywhere. Nothing. Nothing. Everything. It was all a haze. Her terror tasted caustic in his mouth, like bitter chord, felt sharp like a knife to the gut. “Say something!” 

Kylo had never failed to protect someone. He’d always given Ben the strength he needed—to help their mother escape, to protect their siblings, to survive Snoke, to brave Han’s conspiracy. He’d never let Ben down. So, he knew he had to find Rey, he had to. He couldn’t bear the thought of…

“Kylo!”

Kylo’s head snapped towards the sound. 

Water. 

Water. 

He could hear water. 

Kylo pivoted on his heels, the hard earth churning with the force, and headed east for the river Med'eeth, cursing. H _ow in the seven hell did she get this far out?_ He had to have travelled _miles_ from the clearing at this point. He ran up a hill and then down the muddy bank of a river. Once there, he felt his panic lessen but only infinitesimally. 

Rey stood in the middle of the raging Med'eeth, water churned white as it smashed against rocks and swirled in the currents. She had a makeshift weapon in her hand, the jagged end of a thick branch that she held back like a spear. Just a few feet from her was a very large, and very angry looking bear shifter, reared backed on brown hind legs colored ink black from the water. Her hair whipped around her like she was the storm, the answer to every incoming threat, the siren that sank ships with their song.

Gods, but Rey was magnificent.

She was holding her own rather well, smart enough to have shifted. Every time the bear came down to charge, Rey was ready, out maneuvering it, and twisting like a ribbon caught in the wind, giving her the opportunity to land a blow to its flank or its rear or its back. The only problem? Her transformation looked stalled—her body was lined with only a thin sheen of translucent hair, and fangs were jabbing _into_ her lip, when in the past, they’d at least reach level with her facial sulcus. Instead of bulking up, she’d grown tall and willowy. She looked more like a gazelle than a Lycan.

Kylo didn’t have the time to wonder why she’d paused halfway through, or if she couldn’t finish it because it didn’t matter. Despite how powerful and skillful Rey was, no Omega, shifted or not, was going to outlast a fully grown, drunken Alpha bear. Even an Alpha would have their hands full. Kylo wasn’t going to sit around and watch her attempt to.

With a girthy roar, Kylo shifted, his heart wild in his chest because it had been years since he had been able to shift while he was in control. He felt his bones realigning, his muscles detaching and re-attaching to his new shape. Fur covered his body, his claws extended, and his fangs sharpened to points by his chin. By the time his shifting was completed, he was as tall as the bear.

Feeling the adrenaline feeding his body, Kylo shot across the river on all fours, his claws digging into the soft silty bottom, propelling him faster. Within seconds, he was on the bear, wrapping his arms around its massive, burly body and tackling it into the water. 

Not that Kylo was surprised, but the moment the bear's back slammed into the water, the damned thing twisted, and Kylo went sailing through the air, narrowly missed colliding into Rey and skipping across the surface like a thrown rock. It was a big enough of a distraction for him either way. “Run!” he roared at Rey as he rolled to a stop and sank into the water. He popped up and pointed to the riverbank. “Get back to the clearing!”

Rey shook her head, readjusting the branch. Kylo recognized her stance, one he’d seen in the flurry of Kira’s memories, where Rey trained with three others. _Form II? Makashi?_ _Just how trained was this woman?_ “It’s better two against one. I’m not leaving you out here.”

Kylo crossed the space between them with a few lengthy strides, kicking up water. She looked at him, expectant, eager, like he was approaching with a plan. Kylo snorted. Plans, yeah, right. He could do them, of course, he just wasn’t good at them. If Rey was _Makashi_ , then he was _Juyo_. Wild, unpredictable, constant. So, instead of offering her what she wanted, he wrapped a clawed hand around her muscled forearm, now exposed after the bear had torn off a sleeve, and shoved her towards Med'eeth’s edge. “I will literally throw you across this fucking river! Get out of here!”

“Oh, get over yourself! “Rey screamed back. “We’re a team now! We fight together. Get that through your thick mutt skull!” Her eyes flew to just over his shoulder, and they widened. It was almost comical. Like the point he wanted her to get what was just behind him. “Kylo! Duck!”

“A duck?” Kylo barked, confused. “See! This is what the fuck I mean! You’re unprepared! We are fighting a _bear_ —" 

The breath flew from his chest as a paw knocked him sideways. Oh. She meant…for him to _duck_. Fair. He deserved that. Properly embarrassed, and angered, Kylo slugged to his feet in enough time to kick the bear in the throat. It staggered back through the water with a pained yelp, kicking up water as it fell back into the river. Stars, they were lucky this piece of shit was drunk. “Can’t you see we are having a discussion here, you _fucking_ idiot? Stay put!” He whirled on Rey. “Get one thing straight. We are _not_ a team. I am here to protect you and that’s what I’m going to do!”

“ _Holy_ karking shit! Don’t you get tired of hearing yourself go on and _on_ about being a protector all the damn time? Doesn’t that get old, you big, slobbering, foul mouthed mongrel—behind you!” Rey took her makeshift weapon, hauled her arm back and _launched_ it at the charging bear, the wood whistling through the air with the precision of an arrow. The sharp end of the branch speared deep bear’s foreleg, and just like a bear drunk off its ass, it crashed back into the water. 

“No!” Kylo yelled, paying the bear a passing glance. “No, I don’t get tired of saying that! I’ve only got two jobs, asshole, that’s fucking you and protecting you! And you won’t let me do either!”

“I don’t—on your left!—need some mindless shield, you idiot—jump!—I need someone who is going to at least pretend that I’m not some helpless Omega! That I’m worth more than my designation!—spin!—And if you’re not going to do that, you might as well let me handle this bear by myself—watch out!” 

What a stupid, stupid speech! And because Kylo had been distracted by her passionate—but stupid—did he mention stupid—little spiel, he hadn’t moved fast enough to avoid the tips of the bear’s claw as they dug into his side. It made him more angry than hurt and Kylo whipped around and snatched Rey’s weapon out of the bear’s foreleg, shaking it in her face. “Fine! Since you want to be a badass! When I say throw, you throw!” Kylo said, tossing her stupid little stick back to her. Kylo took a step back from the bear, who wobbled on its hindlegs, but seemed to be gauging which one of them it was going to attack next.

Kylo wasn’t going to kill the bear. Because they had rules, because it was drunk, and because it wasn’t thinking straight, and maybe Rey was making him soft. Or maybe he _would_ kill it just because Rey was making him soft. Whatever. But he was for sure going to make sure Rey hurt it good enough that it would think twice about _ever_ attacking another shifter for no good reason. Digging his feet into the riverbed, Kylo charged again, this time thrusting his shoulder into the bear’s center of gravity. It stuttered back and recovered enough to raise its forelegs into the air to cobble Kylo’s head and back. 

“Throw! Throw now!” 

All Kylo heard was the stinging whistle as the branch sailed through the air, landing deep in the bear’s hip. Kylo pushed off the ground, throwing the bear back so hard, it finally toppled over, splashing into the water and onto its back. Kylo leaped out of the water, through the air, landing on the bear’s chest with a roar. He drew his claws back, but instead of digging them into its throat, he slapped him across the snout.

“You know Ossus rules! You don’t attack other shifters unless it’s for food!” He pointed to Rey. “She’s not food! She’s my mate!” He reached down and yanked the spear out of the bear’s hip, not caring how much it might have hurt. Served it right, anyways. “Stupid bear! I’ll be back one day, and if I ever hear you pulled this again, I’ll—"

“You can hurt him, but don’t kill him. I’m rather fond of the big guy.”

A soft but sardonic feminine voice floated through the air and both Kylo and the bear looked in the direction it came from. An older woman, shifter, was hurrying across the Med'eeth, the bottom of her pants rolled up to her knees. The bear groaned and rolled his eyes.

She had this look in her eyes like she didn’t trust Kylo as she came near. Smart. However… “I’m not going to hurt him, woman.”

She snorted. “I don’t see why not. I just gave you permission to.” She approached them but brushed by Kylo to stand over the bear. She held out her hand as if she were going to push Kylo off, but instead, she smacked him right across his snout, just as Kylo had. “My capacity for mayhem is pretty high up there, but yours? Stars! Shift down right this instance! I can’t leave you alone for anything in the world!”

The bear yelped pathetically but closed its eyes and did as told, shifting down to its human form. Soon, Kylo was straddling a naked man with hair the color of a Ghibli fruit tart Jacen loved. He scrambled off him and stood, scandalized. Kylo turned towards Rey with his hands up. “I didn’t touch him! Honest!”

Sensing the danger was over Rey shifted down herself, her clothes faring much better than his had, and opted to stare at Kylo with a bored expression. He wasn’t expecting Rey to be dramatic with jealousy, but she could at least _act_ like it. 

“Gotta say I’m real sorry about all of this,” the woman said, crossing her arms, looking not sorry at all. “I come this way with Zakarisz every day and he’s always so well behaved but, you know what they say! There’s no party like a drunken bear party. I noticed all of my fermented fruit was missing and realized this _imbecile_ ,” she yelled before turning around and kicking him in the shin, “had eaten all of it!” 

“I’m hurt, woman! Don’t kick me while I’m down!” Zakarisz screeched back. 

“And whose fault is it that you’re hurt.” She moved to yank Zakarisz from the water. “Bleeding all over the place like some half assed-twit! You could have killed them! And the last thing I want to do is return to Nihil explaining why you shouldn’t be kicked out!”

Zakarisz scoffed as he stood. “Yeah, sure. Because he’s the one with two holes in him. Yeah, I’m a real danger.”

The woman smacked him again. 

“Stop hitting me!”

“Stop talking back, then,” she replied smoothly.

Snarling in disgust, Kylo turned from them, ready to snatch Rey up and get back to the caves. He was not looking forward to walking her through stitching up his injuries. The only healer that was still at Nihil currently was Jobal and Jobal hands shook terribly in his old age. “Rey, let’s—"

Then….

The Rose Oil of Amidala.

Kylo stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes jutted back and forth in search of it before he closed them and inhaled deeply through his nose, filling his lungs. It was so close this time, so close and so strong that…

Kylo turned towards the woman slowly, his eyes narrowed as he accessed her. His mother was a powerful mage and she had the power to change her appearance—right age, right height, right sarcastic personality. But she didn’t recognize him, and no matter how deep into hiding she was, she wouldn’t pretend she didn’t.

His disappointment turned to anger very quickly.

Kylo stormed towards her and grabbed her by the arm. He heard Rey crying out in reproach but Kylo was not to be stopped. “Who are you?”

Zakarisz growled and tried to shove himself between Kylo and the woman but he pushed the bear shifter out of the way, ignoring his garbled cry.” Who are you?” he snarled.

She, on the other hand, didn’t seem angered, or annoyed, or even put off by Kylo’s sudden aggression. “Someone who could probably kill you very easily, but that’s a discussion for another day.”

He got right in her face, lips pulled back. “Why do you smell like my mother?”

The woman craned her head to the side to sniff her shoulder. “Your mother smells like fermented fruit and horse dung? Because that’s where I’ve been…tending the fruit trees.”

“The Rose Oil of Amidala! You smell like sweet briar and argan oil! Tell me why!”

This time the woman tilted her head, half amused, half bemused. “I…smell like my deceased mate.” With her free hand, she reached deep into her loose-fitting tunic and pulled out a japor snippet dangling from the end of a leather cord. “Supposed to let me call on the help of his family should I ever need.” Her head tilted the other way. “Question is, why do you recognize it?”

The anger drained out of him, pooling down by his feet, then seeping into the water. He was confused. Beyond confused. “My…I don’t—”

This time the woman _looked_ at him, good and long and deep, and a flicker of recognition crossed her face, and her lopsided frown morphed into a full-blown smirk. She reached out and tapped his nose. “Ah,” she murmured. “I know you. You’ve got his nose, her eyes.”

“You do? Wait. Whose nose? What eyes?”

“Your parents! I was there when your mom brought you here. Stars, you were a screaming little mutt!” She eyed him up and down. “You’re still just as loud, just…a lot bigger.” She gently pried his hand from her arm and took a step back, only to offer him her hand. “I’d hug you, but like I said, I smell like horse dung. Name’s Mara Jade.” She smiled at him, bright, and playful, a bit like the sun. “I’m your aunt.”

Rey sat on the highest level of the cave, up so high she felt like she could swipe at a cloud. In the corner of the room was Mara Jade and Kylo, the former fussing over Kylo’s wounds, and the latter watching her warily. Instead of needle and thread, Mara Jade was healing Kylo’s gash with battle magic endued with the Force. While she toiled, she worked out bits of information from him, which he wasn’t too keen to answer. Good thing Rey was there.

“So…you’re like the King of Core?” she asked, her brow raised, her voice a mix of awe and incredulity. “Don’t have nothing like that around here. We’re all equals.”

Rey chuckled softly. “Not quite…a King. Core doesn’t believe in that. Ben,” she said, nodding at Kylo, “is the highest ranked Alpha. I am second ranked. We’re not royalty, we’re just in charge. Not as glamorous.”

Mara Jade’s nose scrunched like a bunny and Rey wanted to laugh because it _was_ something she’d seen Ben do so many times. “Then what are you doing here? Don’t you important people have important things to do?”

Rey cleared her throat and pinned Kylo with a stare, who avoided it, instead tucking his arms behind his back and staring at the ceiling. “We do,” Rey said. “Which is why Kylo promised we could go back.”

“Technically I meant after we found my mother. Which we did not.”

“And technically, I could walk back to Core. I’d probably die or get attacked and it would all be your fault. Ben would be _so_ mad.”

Kylo scoffed, twisting up his fat lips into a grimace.

Mara Jade nodded quietly as she tied off her last knot of his stitches before taking a cold cloth and cleaning away the blood that had smeared his flank pink. “Kylo,” she said after some time. “You’re the only member of my…family that has come this far. I know you’re looking for your mother, but she _is_ safe. It was one of the things I promised your uncle.” Kylo growled and Rey wondered why that statement would anger him, but Mara Jade kept talking, as if she were expecting his ire. “I know you and your uncle didn’t part on the best of terms. I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I…often kept that big dumdum from doing stupid things, but I was wandering. My first wander, really. Timing sucked.”

“He tried to kill me.”

Rey’s gasp was so loud and strong it hurt her throat and chest, like she’d inhaled too much air, too much secret, too suddenly. “Your uncle?”

“Battle magic can be tainted. And with it, the user can be tainted. He thought I’d learned too much from Snoke. That I reminded him of Anakin.”

Mara Jade sighed heavily, leaning forward on her knees. “Your…uncle idolized the goodness in his father and despised what the darkness did before war. But it was something I never understood. After Anakin was redeemed, he was considered a hero for all his good deeds in the Second Shifter war. Maybe it was when Anakin and Padme disappeared—we only learned of their deaths through messenger—that his grief erased the good and trauma made him focus on the bad. He was a good man, the _best_. Just…I…don’t know what to tell you, Ben.”

“I’m not Ben,” Kylo muttered.

“Right. What I can tell you is before his death, he reached out to your mother to apologize. I see now that she never told you. Maybe for good reason. But Be—Kylo. Know that you are loved here. I’ve always known that light does not exist without dark. That they must coexist in balance in order for their power to manifest as they should. I _know_ that. Personally. I also know that…whatever your uncle chose to see in you during your training here was his failure. And it was his sin to carry. Not yours.”

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Kylo said, sounding far more touched by her words than he looked. He turned to look at her. “Are you going to tell me where my mother is?”

Her smile returned, a bit too chipper to be entirely sincere. “Nope. Leia isn’t going to smack my head off my shoulders because I couldn’t keep my fat mouth shut. You will see her again, one day. You have to believe that.”

Rey’s preordained mate looked as if he was going to argue, but stopped when he realized it was useless, slinking back across the cot in Mara Jade’s room. His original goal wasn’t to find her in the first place. Maybe he would try again someday. Who knew?

Satisfied, Mara dipped her hand into a small container and when she pulled her fingers out, they were covered in a silver green salve. She went to smooth the salve across his reddening skin but as soon as it touched his cut, Kylo roared. 

“Goddamnit, that hurts!”

Mara Jade pulled her chin in and looked at Rey. “He’s better behaved in front of other elders I hope?”

Rey hid her laughter behind her hand. “Him?” She snorted. “Absolutely not. Ben?” Rey smiled, ducking her head at the sudden heat across her face. “He can be a bit of an overbearing brat, but…you couldn’t find a finer gentleman.” 

“Oh, so _now_ you like Ben? Could have fooled me with all the bitching you’ve been doing—ow!” Kylo reached up and grabbed his nose. “What’cha do that for?”

“Watch your mouth around me and your mate, love,” Mara Jade said calmly as she stood. She turned to Rey. “Be a dear, take Sir Grumpy to bed. The salve will stop stinging soon, but I fear his whining may not. I’ll have someone bring you guys some fresh meat.”

Rey winced remembering dropping all her herbs from the forest when the bear—Zakarisz, had appeared from around the corner, eyeing her like she was a meal. _Meh, more bland meat. Great._

Rey led Kylo down the stairs, flight after flight, listening to him be a big baby all the way down. 

“You’re hurting me! Slow down!”

“Are you serious? I can barely see those scratches!”

“Well, if you think they don’t hurt, let me jab you a few times with my claws and see how you like it!”

“And you’re supposed to be the most fearsome wolf in all of Core,” Rey derided. “I’m going to be mated to a crybaby!”

“A crybaby? I’ll show you a damn crybaby,” he muttered as they turned the corner of another flight of stairs. 

Rey tried very, very hard to hide her smile from him as they descended the steps. Despite all of Kylo’s complaints, over the last couple of days, Rey had begun to warm to him, his behavior less menacing, lust crazed maniac, and more stubborn puppy very loyal to his duties towards her. He dragged things out of Rey—her temper for one, softened from an unpleasant, resistant rage, to indignant, baffled annoyance.

Now there was a willingness inside of her to fight for what she wanted, no longer surrendering her life to circumstance. To strive for a different way to survive which didn’t hinge on her survival instinct drenched in surreptitiousness. Ben had tried a much gentler approach, which she appreciated more than she could imagine. But Kylo prodded, made her uncomfortable, made her think.

Yet, even with all that, what he was really good at?

Making her realize just how much she missed Ben Solo.

It was a dull ache deep in her chest, radiating heat and want and longing, like fire that had been kindled by pure absence. Whenever Kylo would smile at her, she saw Ben. Whenever Kylo touched her, grabbed her hand to guide her somewhere, she felt Ben’s large hand enveloping her, his fingers on her skin. The way he was built, the firmness of him when they had to touch, the way his hair framed his face, his proud, wonderful nose, his full, kissable lips.

All of it was screaming Ben. And it forced her to think about all the time she’d wasted thinking about something that may or may not even matter to him. 

Rey made a resolution to herself, a secret promise to Ben. When she was back in Core, she would try. Stars, she would try, not out of obligation, but because he deserved it. Because _she_ deserved it.

Kylo was easy enough to lay down, sinking into the mattress without much complaint, all the tension bleeding away as he finally, _finally_ rested. Last night, Kylo had opted for the floor, giving her the bed, a kindness she hadn’t expected from him. Tonight, she would let him lay in comfort. He was quick to fall asleep, and Rey remembered the way Ben jolted awake at the slightest movement.

Sleep, Kylo. Rest Ben.

To pass the time—it was still early in the afternoon—Rey wandered up the flights of steps to the main holding of the cave, where most of the other shifters lived. She learned that Kylo’s dwellings used to belong to Luke, his uncle, and that Mara Jade had abandoned it when she returned from the World Beyond Worlds, where those of Ossus buried their dead.

Of all the shifters clamoring to speak with the stranger who was not a wanderer, but had returned with one of their own, the children were the most interesting. Rey wore funny clothes, silk and cotton in bright colors while they were happy in their roughspun clothing in muted tones. 

One especially curious child tugged on her pants, indicating that she should sit beside her at one of the communal fires. She had long black hair with ends tinted in a pale green. She was small and full of childlike energy that tired Rey almost instantly, and the young thing spoke a mile a minute. Rey could hardly get a word in edgewise. 

“Does everyone dress like you do where you come from? What’s an _Alpha_? Is that like a God or something? We don’t have gods, only the Force. But the Force is everywhere so maybe your God is the Force too? I’m sure it is. What do you eat? They said you cooked your food? Why? Why do you like burned food? Do you _love_ Kylo? Hey, do you know what this is?”

Without much reason to, she took her hand and looped Rey’s pinky with hers. “This is called a pinky promise.” Then she let go. “Nana Mara Jade said you and Kylo loved each other and that you do pinky promises to show you love one another and… do you do what my momma and daddy do? They are in love, too, and they wait until it’s really, really late and they make noises. Doesn’t sound like a pinky promise to me. My pinky promises are silent.”

“Sooyoung!” 

Little Sooyoung froze, her mouth rounded and her eyes swept left and right, looking for the source. Mara Jade seemed to appear out of thin air right by the young girl, and before either of them could react, Sooyoung was being pulled to her feet by her ear. “What did I tell you about telling everyone what your parents do?”

Sooyoung lowered her head. “I was just wondering why they are so darn loud,” she mumbled. 

Mara Jade released her ear, and shook her head, exasperated. “Take your sisters and go find Joohun. She wants you to help her prep welcoming dinners for the incoming wanderers.” 

Sooyoung nodded mutely and began to walk towards a stairwell that Rey assumed led to the kitchens. But before she disappeared, she turned to Rey and held up her pinky finger, her laughter echoing up the stairs. Rey snorted out a laugh.

“Excuse the children. The adults around here are too busy sometimes to sit down and listen to their babbling. If they’d be patient, they’d realized they’d learn everything they need to know in their travels. Impatient whelps.”

“They were no trouble, really. Great company. I’ve learned quite a bit by things they probably weren’t supposed to say.” Like the fact that Zakarisz used to sneak in Nihil everyday as a teen to learn from Luke. He didn’t possess any access to battle magic, so he was just a bother they kept around because he was quite lovable. Or that there was a border patrol that guarded Ossus’s location heavily and it would take an act of supreme importance for them to ever let an outside in. Or that the people of Nihil consider Kylo—and Ben—one of their own, one of the few people to have a sort of dual clansmenship.

Rey waved when another one of the children, Kyjun, smiled at her from the corner where he was helping an older wanderer sharpen hunting arrows. “It’s been a while since I’ve been around children. I forgot how much energy they have.”

“Well, they certainly can be good practice for your own! Stars know, you’ll never know true weariness until you have children, I’ll tell you that. But you’ll also never know a truer love and happiness.” Mara Jade smiled, a fond thing, tinted with faint sadness. “Are you a bearer?”

Rey felt something under her eye twice at the question. “A bearer?” Then it hit her. “Oh! Am I…will I ever bear children?” Rey laughed nervously. When she was younger, she often dreamed of it, being the mother to a strong line of Alpha children who would carry the Kenobi bloodline but…

“No,” she shook her head sadly. “I don’t believe I can.”

“Weird. You sure do smell like one.” Mara Jade’s eyes flicked down to her hips. “Narrow, but narrow hips never stopped a shifter from spitting out a litter. You also have the smell of a bearer. It’s very faint. A regular wolf wouldn’t be able to pick it up, but we wanderers have the best noses. We could smell a rose petal in a pile of shit.” 

Rey released another laugh, this one so uneasy sounding she winced. 

The warmth and easy familiarity Mara Jade displayed evened out into something more somber, more serious. “Rey,” she asked as she glanced out over the bluff. The sun was setting, and the pink-orange glow made the land look ethereal. Romantic, even. “Do you love my nephew?” 

“I…” The word “no” slammed into the back of her teeth. Gods, she’d just started to accept the fact that she could temper a partnership with him, and now his aunt was asking about love. She could lie. She _should_ lie, make them believe she was living a fairytale with one of their own. But. “I am…starting…to care for him in a way that I hadn’t allowed myself before.”

Mara Jade nodded, slim fingers tapping along her lips. “That’s more than I can ask for really. Love, it comes. Wolves mate for a lot of reasons and love has never really been one of them. The mating process fosters attachment, encourages loyalty, but it doesn’t guarantee love.”

“I think he wants that, though. Sometimes I look at him and I don’t see obligation staring back. I see…longing. Not necessarily for me, but for what I could give him.”

“He’s always been a …emotional child. Surly as all hell. A big brooding mountain who welds great strength and even greater temper tantrums,” she chuckled. “But when Ben loves, he loves hard. That’s why his uncle’s betrayal hurt so much. He could see the logic in it, his kin wanted to eliminate shadows that could taint this land. But Ben couldn’t understand the pain.”

Rey couldn’t imagine. Well, yes, she could. Her family wanted her dead, too. But she’d never had a relationship with Gallius, never shared secrets with Bazine. They were strangers, who shared her blood.

“I would tell you to be careful with his heart, but I don’t think I have to.” Mara Jade patted her cheek. “I can see it in your eyes, Rey, the affection. You’ll be good for my nephew. And he’ll be good for you. I know things like this. _Volo te’amantellah_ —I wish you love _.”_ With that, she left Rey alone.

She sat through her meal, drank some of their proffered wine, all while she was floating amongst her musing. At the end of the night, Rey walked to the edge of the overlook and turned her head towards the night sky. 

_Who would have thought being kidnapped would have changed so much?_

When Rey returned to the bottom level of the cave, Kylo was still asleep, strewn across the mattress like he didn’t have any home training. Then Rey thought about it. He didn’t. 

Good thing she’d planned on letting him have the bed. Gingerly, she plucked the one pillow not jammed under his head and picked up a pile of furs laying over a chest, beginning to make a makeshift pallet on the ground beside the bed. Or at least she tried. Just as she was about to lay down, a low growl caught her attention. 

“This bed is big enough for the both of us. So, either we both sleep in the bed, or I sleep on the floor.”

Rey rolled her eyes. “I’ll be absolutely fine down here.”

“I’m sure,” he said. Rey was surprised. That was entirely too easy. “I will drag you into this bed if I have to,” he said not a second later.

Yes. Way too easy. Rey huffed. “Fine.”

She threw the pillow back onto the bed and stood, making shooing motion with her hands since Kylo currently occupied most of the space. He didn’t volley any complaint or offer any smug satisfaction that she’d listened without putting up much of a fight. He simply rolled to the far side of the bed with his back turned, laying on his uninjured side. Not that it was necessary. He was still shirtless, and from her vantage point, Rey could see that his wounds were all but healed. The power of a Force user. 

It was silent for a long time after she climbed into bed, and after a day like they’d had, it was easy enough for sleep to begin to tempt her. Just as it was, though, Rey felt the mattress dip, and the rustling of the bed coverings. She peeked open an eye. Then she congratulated herself on not jumping. Kylo was staring right at her.

She frowned. “Were you going to wait until I was asleep to stare at me all night?”

“Maybe.” Kylo shrugged. “I do it every other night.”

“That’s not creepy at all.”

Kylo shrugged again, his movement calling Rey’s attention to his bare, broad chest[AW1] , his sculpted torso. She wished he had a cowl or something or pulled the sheets up to his neck. To his eyes. But gods. Scars. There were _so_ many scars, pale white ones and angry red ones, a warrior’s badge, a testament that Ben, that Kylo, had fought and been fought against. She, too, had her scars, some welcome, some a pained reminder of all that she thought was wrong with her.

“You’re _beautiful_ , Rey. And you’re supposed to stare at beautiful things. So, I stare at you.”

Beautiful. She honestly didn’t know why she was asking this question. “Am I…as beautiful as Kira?” Yes, she had absolutely no idea why she asked that. She really didn’t care what Kylo thought about her wolf. Rey puffed out her cheeks in resignation. “Never mind. That was a stupid question.” Rey began to turn away from him, go to sleep, lose her mortification in the throes of slumber, but the wolf stopped her before she could offer him her back with a soft gentle hand across her belly. 

“Kira is a lot like you. However, she is gentler. Because you’ve pushed her down, away, she hasn’t…experienced or suffered as you have. She is kinder because the world never had an opportunity to hurt her, to harden her like it has with you.”

“She’s weak.”

“Nah. I don’t think any part of you is weak, so how can she be? She’s shadowborne— _na’ki–tu_. You are light with an overwhelming capacity for dark— _na’ka–te_. She is your darkness yearning for light while you reach for the shadows to understand it all. That spirit you fight with? That flame that keeps you going when you feel alone? The warmth that soothes when you’re lonely? That’s Kira. She’s just as beautiful as you are, and you are just as precious as she is.”

Rey laughed, maybe to cover how raw and exposed she felt, a Kylo specialty. “You’re rather poetic when you’re sleepy.”

“I’m always poetic. Just unpolished.”

The joke was more Ben than Kylo—his earlier declarations had Solo written all over it. And that was the problem. Here, his eyes were soft, like Ben’s, angular and expressive. Not for the first time since she’d imprinted on him, and he on her, since that night in her secret room in the Archives, did Rey’s heart do something funny, a fluttering sensation that felt like the kiss of a butterfly behind her breastbone. “You know, I look at you and I still see Ben.”

Kylo grinned, wolfish, soft. “We’re the same person, Rey. Just…different parts. I’m his instinct. He’s my sensibility, the emotions I don’t think I feel or know how to process.” 

The hand on Rey’s belly trailed in soft comforting circles and Rey thought of a future where she and Ben laid in bed at night, sharing their secrets, and kisses, and the sweet ache of just being together. She thought of a future where Kylo touched her and she felt _alive_. She thought of her future and wherever she looked, that future included the man before her. She never wanted that feeling, that comfort, the feeling of security to ever stop. 

“You want to know what Ben’s first and last thoughts are, nowadays?” Kylo whispered. His hand was moving lower, toying with the hem of Rey’s shirt and she should stop him, really, she should. But she couldn’t. She _couldn’t_. “You. If you’re okay, if you’re cold in your room, if he should order up more wood for your fire, if you’re hungry, happy or sad. His thoughts are always on you. I used to be so angry because of it.”

Rey swallowed hard as Kylo’s fingertips grazed the skin just below her shirt. She felt like wherever he touched her caught afire. “Why?” she breathed.

“Because I want him to just take you. I thought that would make you see. That is instinct, my instinct. But he wanted you to come willingly and…I guess… _eventually_ I started to understand that.”

Kylo’s large warm hand slipped just under Rey’s shirt and Rey sucked in her stomach at the contact.

“You’re so soft. All I’ve wanted to do was touch you since I’ve first saw you.”

Rey didn’t dare answer, finding that words were inadequate.

“Do you want him, Rey?” 

Rey, again, was speechless. Rey’s longing was full bodied and effervescent and so fucking novel, she didn’t know what to do with it.

But.

“I…I—Kylo”

But…

“—I—”

She couldn’t do this.

And it was as Kylo could read her mind, as if he could understand this was undoable, that they were seeking someone else, something else, within one another. He said “Rey” and he meant “Kira”. She wanted to explore this new feeling, of wanting Ben, and she was so…needy with it, that she reached for Kylo.

Who was not Ben. Who was not Ben. He was not—

“Fuck,” he cursed. He looked as if he were going to push her away, and Rey knew she didn’t want to hurt him, so grabbed onto the hand just under her shirt. “I can’t, we can’t.”

“I know. But…” he paused and in a flurry of movement, Kylo was on his back, Rey hovering above him, her thighs straddling his large, muscled one. “We can’t…but you can.”

“What?”

“Use me, Rey. Find out why being with him is what’s supposed to happen. That in the end, this was meant to be. _Use_ me.” His hands landed on her hips, but it was faint, an outline of a burning touch. He tapped the base of her back, and on instinct Rey scooted forward, and the hot drag of her core over hard muscle felt like she was being swallowed by an all-consuming fire, a throb so intense, she felt it punch the roof of her mouth, the base of her skull, the tips of her toes. So, she did it again.

And again.

“Good girl,” Kylo rumbled, his hands taking firmer possession of her hips, pressing her down, into him. It was _electric_. Untenable. Too much, too much, too much. He sat up, hands wrapping around her waist, pushing her down, so close, and so hot, his lips hovering over the triangle of thin skin below her throat. Too close to her glands, too far away. “Such a good, good girl for me,” he growled. “You feel that? That’s me. That’s you. This is what was always supposed to happen. We.” 

_Higher_ , and _throbbing_ , and she was reaching for the catch, the break, something she could rip her claws into and find release. And Rey was a wild thing, salt and earth and the waves of the ocean, because she was riding Kylo’s thigh like it was the most natural thing in the world. And he let her. Without touching her, not really, without kissing or claiming her in any way, he lets her.

Use him.

Rey’s eyes flutter _open_ when she comes, that sweet, sweet, throb, and something like the entire universe exploding colored her vision red and orange and blue and green and all the colors that reminded her of Ben. Because right now, that’s what she saw. Ben’s face. And he was looking at her like he drowned. That it took him time stretched thin to breathe again.

“You…”

He kissed her then, sweet, chaste, on the chin.

“You…”

That drowned, _awed_ look never went away and Kylo was silent. He gently pulled her off him to lie beside him and tucked her into the covers like she was a newborn, like she was precious, like she hadn’t just rode him into oblivion moments before.

“Kylo…”

He managed to look over at her, dazed, and unfulfilled. And Rey wasn’t necessarily a virgin—even if she’d never fooled around with Junto and her sex toys, there was that one time she experimented with some odd shaped produce that had a distinct bulge at the base—but she knew enough about Alpha anatomy and ruts that the restraint Kylo was showing right now was _astronomical_. And she didn’t want to leave him that way, frustrated and—

“Go to sleep,” he said when her eyes flicked down to a noticeable bulge in his pants. “I’ll be okay.” And he kissed her temple, pulled the covers back, and left.

The next morning, Rey woke to something warm and wet. Blearily, she cracked open an eye, frowning at the light from the fire, started while she slept. Something that looked like succulent _nuna legs_ was roasting over it, a trail of green seasoning sprinkled over the meat.

He was…cooking for her. She was awed by the gesture—an Alpha taking care of his…mate. But that didn’t stop her from looking over, frowning, because that something warm and wet was still…warm and wet, and moving in motions that could only be described as one thing—Kylo, crouched over her, licking long stripes up and down her forearms. It didn’t look erotic, quite the opposite. Kylo’s face was scrunched in concentration, focused on his task like it was the only thing tethering him to the ground. 

Rey cleared her throat, bewildered. Kylo paused, his head craning towards the sound, but he continued his task with the focus of a scholar scribing their first book. 

“Kylo,” Rey said, flatly. “What are you doing?”

Kylo grunted. “Cleaning you,” he said in between licks. 

Rey eyed the body of water in the far corner of the cave, a body of water that she’d seen Kylo use, so she knew he knew she could use it for…for this. “You don’t,” she sighed. “You don’t have to do that. I can clean myself.”

Kylo leveled a glare at Rey. “But I’m already cleaning you.”

Rey rolled her eyes, remembering who she was dealing with. A sweet and kind wolf, yes, but also a territorial, obstinate, and stubborn maniac. Nothing about the night before had changed that. “Clearly,” she intoned. She sat up abruptly and pulled her arm back under the covers. Kylo’s whine laced growl was loud and pitiful, and he relented, but not before he snuck one final lick at her elbow.

More than likely Kylo was doing less cleaning and more scenting. A feeble attempt that wouldn’t linger on her skin with or without a bath. He—and by he, she meant Ben—would just have to do it properly.

She eyed the pool, making a ridiculous plan to soak in it for at least half the day, when she noticed something laid carefully at the edge of the bed. _Her robe._ She hummed, her whole body feeling soft with affection. Rey reached down and picked it up. She was so glad she hadn’t lost it, or Kylo hadn’t destroyed in his haste to get to Ossus.

When she clutched it to her chest, something small and solid rolled from the blue and green silk. A pair of hands appeared, picking up the brown object wrapped in twine and placing it in Rey’s hands like it was a priceless jewel.

Rey looked up at Kylo, brow raised. “What’s this? Food?”

A deep line formed between his brows. “Not food. Medicine.” 

“Medication for what?” 

Kylo looked up from the round thing in Rey’s hand, glancing off across the cave. Silence stretched like that, soft like the purple and pinks of early morning, and long, like the string on a bow. “I’m…different,” he said eventually, his brows still bunched together like he was forcing the words to make sense. “I don’t care how you were made because you were made perfect, Rey. You’re perfect. But I know that Ben can’t think like I can. He’s got responsibilities and people who stare at him and judge him and sometimes call him names behind his back. I…want to protect him from what others may say but…but I want to keep you. And I can only think of one way to have both.”

“Kylo?”

“This,” he said tapping on the ball, “will permanently alter your scent. If I keep people from finding out about you, then I protect Ben, and if I keep people from finding out about you, I protect _you_.”

“W—what?” Rey said unintelligibly, floored, trying to swallow around the shock. “Kylo…how?”

“This place is plentiful, a nexus of good things. The ground is rich. Things that aren’t in Core are abundant here. I was going to slip it in your food earlier…so they couldn’t track you down and I could keep you forever. But I’m not a monster…mostly. I’ll give it to you to make the decision. But Rey…talk to Ben before you do it, huh? Trust him—it won’t go the way you think it will.”

Rey’s gaze trailed from Kylo’s profile, then back down to the medicine in her hands. “You…” she tried, and when she realized words would not work, she rushed forward, throwing her hands around his neck and hugging him close. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you so much.”

Kylo nuzzled the top of Rey’s head with the side of his face before withdrawing, his eyes melancholic, his lips turned due south. “Hurry and get cleaned up. We head back to Core today,” he said solemnly. 

Rey’s mouth dropped open, surprise getting the best of her again, stunning her into silence, and just like before, Kylo strode out of the door without another word.

The goodbyes were short and simple. Rey said farewell to all the young friends she made during her stay, promising to visit again and bring them clothing from Core. Sooyoung made her specifically promise to bring her back something green, and she sealed it with the pinky promise the young wander-shifter showed him the day before.

Kylo stood with Mara Jade, the aunt and nephew speaking softly amongst themselves. She placed a parcel filled with food and water in his hands, ignoring his protest that they didn’t need it. 

“It’ll be a two days tops. I don’t need this.”

Rey approached them just as Mara Jade smacked his arm. “Then Rey will, brat! Stop talking back to me and take what I give you!” 

Kylo rubbed his arms sullenly and nodded.

“And you remember what I said. Nothing is wrong with you.” It was a blunt statement, but it was filled with meaning, a declaration that Mara Jade respected the grey of Kylo, of Ben. The good and the bad, acknowledging something her mate took far too long to realize. “And visit sometimes, would you? I’m old and not long for this earth, I think.”

Rey almost snorted. There was nothing old about Mara Jade. Aged, maybe, but not old. Rey gave her a look. “I doubt someone as spirited and beautiful as you is headed to the eternal caves anytime soon.”

Mara Jade eyed Rey, her lips turned down, impressed, before glancing at her nephew. “Must run in the family, selecting good mates. You picked good.”

“I didn’t pick her,” Kylo muttered. 

“Ben didn’t pick me. You on the other hand? You definitely picked me.”

Mara Jade cackled. “Well, you two get on. Last thing we need is for you to bring your high and mighty village folk down on our heads. We are simple creatures while you people are _not_.” She waved her hands towards the path leading from the caves. “Get going.”

Kylo had been right and thank the stars she hadn’t tried herself because there was only one thing a Core person could do when leaving Ossus and heading home—and that was get lost. And because she refused to get lost, she let Kylo talk her into him doing the running for her, her on his back, him lost in the wind, his grin stretching from ear to ear.

As they settled atop the soft leaves of a jungle floor to rest for the night, Kylo turned to Rey, a wistful look on his face. “Don’t,” he paused, cleared his throat. “Don’t tell Ben we were… _together_.”

Rey hardly thought getting off on his thigh constituted them being _together_ , but she understood what he meant. “Kylo. You _are_ a part of Ben. Isn’t that what you told me? Just as last night was special, so will our mating. But, if you don’t want me to tell him, I won’t.”

He grunted. Then he set his shoulders, a decision rendered physical, and stared above them, at the stars. “It feels good being out.”

“I can imagine it would.”

“It has its charms. But Maker, you people are _so_ bothersome. Maybe you all can solve your own damn problems going forward.” Rey did not want to remind him that their latest problem was no one’s fault but his. He yawned, stretching, and Rey heard bones crack along his spine. “I’m tired.”

Rey turned to him. His eyes were hooded and there was a lack of tension in his body, as if he were really exhausted. Physically, she knew he wasn’t. Grinning, she pushed a lock of his hair behind his ear, still amused by how the wolf managed to get it all over his head. She’d offered to run a brush through it before they left, and he had _snarled_. “Are you leaving?”

Kylo nodded. “Yeah, why not? I keep Ben cooped up any longer and I’ll never see the light of day again. And I’m tired of seeing you two act like you don’t want to jump each other bones when you see one another. It’s _annoying_. You belong together. And you can’t start working on getting laid with me running around here, can you?”

Rey felt the tips of her ears go hot, her skin flush with embarrassment.

Rey didn’t deny or confirm his statement and that caused Kylo to reach over and tap her under the chin. “You still don’t believe me?”

Rey smiled in response. “It’s not about believing. It’s about putting that belief in action, I guess.”

“Figure it out or I’ll be back. And that _is_ a threat. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to sleep.” He grabbed Rey’s hand, turned it over and laid a kiss to her palm, to the tips of her fingers. “I’ll see you around?” His tone was low, quiet, hopeful.

“Yeah,” Rey promised. “You will.”

Rey watched the gold fade from Kylo’s eyes, burnt sunset shifting to a pool of dark honey, right before his eyes closed. 

“Bye, Kylo,” she said softly as she lay beside him. “And thank you.”

Ben pulled himself out of the aimless drift of sleep and instead of _rising_ to awareness, he felt like he was dropped into it, flailing, spinning, grabbing until he slammed into the ground. The sun, gods, the sun! It pierced through the reddish grey veil of his eyelids, pouring in so much light he had to raise his hand and shield his face.

“Someone!” he called towards the door. “For the love of everything good in this clan, close the curtains! Please! And if someone could…get me some water? Crackers? I think I’ve upset my stomach,” he groaned, pathetically. “Please? Pretty please?”

There was a light, melodious chuckle to his right. One he recognized. One he _shouldn’t_ recognize because Ben was in his bed. And Ben’s bed that was far, _far_ away from another person’s bed, whose voice he should _not_ be hearing because that would mean _she_ was also in Ben’s bed. Not that he was complaining. It was just a matter of fact. 

He cracked one eye open.

_Okay. Matters of fact can be very wrong._

He was definitely not in the Dyad Suite. He wasn’t even in the Dyad Pavilion. Hell, he wasn’t even in the Imperial Fortress!

Rey sat next to him; a parcel cradled in between her crossed legs. She was diligently halving chunks of bread and placing slices of salted meat and cheese in between them, creating little bite sized sandwiches. Tucked by her side were two skins of water. Ben’s stomach _rumbled_. It was paltry traveling food, but right now, it looked like a meal for a king. 

Still, no matter how hungry he was, nothing preceded his need for an explanation. Problem was, there wasn’t any explaining happening. 

“Rey—”

“Good morning, Ben,” she said sweetly, pressing the two halves together to make them stick.

“Ah, yes. Good morning to you. Um. Help me?” Ben asked, watching her hands work. “Why…why are we in the middle of a jungle eating out of a sack?”

“Kylo,” Rey simply replied as she handed Ben his small meal. 

He took it and placed it aside. “Kylo, what?”

Rey glanced a look at his all but discarded meal, shrugged, then took a bite of her own. “He got it in his head that he needed to protect me, so…he stole me away for a few days. But don’t worry. I talked him back off the ledge! He says hi.”

Nothing in Rey’s posture looked like she was lying, but then again, nothing in Rey’s posture looked like she’d spent the past few days with a tunnel focused, smart mouth, belligerent wolf, either. So, either Ben was still dreaming, or someone had kidnapped his mate and replaced her with… _this_ woman. 

“Kylo says hi.” Ben parroted, lowly. “Kylo says hi?” he shrieked. “You’re telling me that my wolf _kidnapped_ you for an extended amount of time, to gods knows where, and you’re just fine with that?”

Rey swallowed her bite, then gave him a _very_ dry look. “Of course, I wasn’t fine with it. It took me two days to convince him to leave and two to get here. I don’t even know how long I’ve been gone. I don’t even know where I am! I haven’t had a proper bath, my robe is dirty, _I_ am dirty, because all I had was stagnant cave water to wash in. He tried to get me to eat raw meat. Raw. Meat. Then he dragged me out to the middle of some godforsaken field and a drunk bear almost ate me.”

“A _what_ almost _what_?”

“A drunken bear shifter. He apologized, though. But that was after I speared him in the side a few good times. With a branch. I made a weapon out of a branch. You’d be proud.”

Rey took another bite, smiling into her meal and Ben stared at her. And stared at her. After a while, she looked over, and smiled at him, cheeks puffed out like a feral chipmunk. Ben could only put his head in his hands and try to calm down. Because he was going to yell. And he didn’t want to yell. Especially at her. But this deserved _volume_.

“Rey—"

“I missed you.” 

Ben’s head snapped back up and it hurt, because his head still felt like someone had slammed it against an outcropping of rocks a few hundred times. But the pain was secondary. Didn’t matter. “What did you say?”

Rey huffed out a laugh through her nose. “I said I missed you. You know, when you notice the absence of someone else? I missed you. Turns out that Kylo isn’t all that bad, but stars, am I glad you’re back.”

Ben blinked and looked around. Yes, someone had stolen off with his future mate, swapped her out. He was being tricked because surely this smiley, easygoing woman wasn’t his Rey. His Rey was stubborn, argumentative, and headstrong. Qualities about her he thoroughly enjoyed. Didn’t mean that it didn’t tap dance on his last nerves at times. “You miss… me. Me”

She nodded, still chewing. “You.”

“Oh,” he said, blinking. “That’s strange because—and I’m not trying to start a fight, I just want to understand—the last time we spoke…”

Rey looked thoughtful for a moment. “I was apologizing for saying something mean to you, I recall.”

“Yeah…that sounds about right.”

“What was it? That I said? I remember telling you that my memory from that night was fuzzy.”

“See, the part about not wanting to start a fight? I meant that.” 

“Stop being an evasive ass and tell me.” 

Well, _that_ definitely was his Rey. Ben looked away, his eyes canvassing the environment. He didn’t recognize this patch of jungle, but he did recognize the lung plants, swollen long and wide, as if it recognized strangers near it. Lung plants were native to Kashyyyk. And so were the mysterious quicksand whirlpools. Obviously, they weren’t in Kashyyyk Black Forest or they wouldn’t be having this conversation at all. They’d be dead. However, it didn’t look like Rey cared where or where they weren’t. Her gaze was heavy, expectant.

He should just let it go. He should.

But he wasn’t. Ben sighed. “You remember the kiss?”

Rey hummed. “Yes, I remember the kiss.”

“Well, you said something afterwards. And I got angry and we had our umpteenth fight in two days.” He chanced a glance at her, and was met with Rey’s green eyes, soft and patient. It confused him. “You implied that I only wanted you for sex.”

She didn’t react right away, as if her body was frozen, as if the memory was coming back to her, less like a trickling stream, but a white wall of water. “I,” she tried, and then she started to do that thing with her hands when she was nervous, looking down at them and rubbing them together. “I don’t know what to say. I never—that was a very mean thing of me to assume.”

Ben chuckled dryly. “You most certainly cited your references, so I believe you meant it. Did you not?”

“I was _drunk_.”

And poisoned. But poison wasn’t a truth telling serum. “People often tell the truth when they are drunk. Or so I heard.”

Rey shook her head. “That’s a lie. It gives feckless people the courage to say what they mean, sometimes, yeah, but sometimes it's just an excuse to be nasty. And I was being nasty.” She looked up, green eyes meeting his. “I’m sorry. And I don’t feel that way, I wasn’t being brave that night. I was—I don’t feel like that. I don’t think that’s true,” she said, chest puffed out like the Alpha she was.

Ben was quiet, pleasantly shocked silent. So, that’s what his intended looked like when she was being honest with herself. Like the sun. A rambling, impetuous, stubborn, bright _radiant_ sun.

“Ben,” she said, reaching forward. His eyes dropped to his hands because she’d taken ahold of them. He still was pretty sure he was dreaming. It felt good like a dream, warm like one, surreal and beautiful like one. Like her. “I’ve been thinking…about you. And me. You and me. And something,” she muttered a curse under her breath and Ben was enjoying watching her…struggle through this. Whatever it was. “I…I mean we, us, are…we could be—fuck. The things I feel are—”

A cacophony of sounds broke the quiet of the still humid jungle air, interrupting Rey’s speech. He could have cursed himself blue.

In the distance, lung plants swelled up in warning, in self-preservation, as a dozen or so people on horseback raced towards them. Ben glanced at Rey.

“Search party?”

“Yeah,” she said, her shoulders deflating. “A search party. Perfect _karking_ timing, by the way,” she muttered.

They rose from their private little world in the middle of a Kashyyyk jungle, and stepped out of it, sound and light and reality crashing down on them like boulders sinking to the bottom of a lake. One horse pulled just shy of them and whinnied as its rider pulled back on its reins. A shock of black hair glanced over the horse’s head, a smirk pulling at her lips. 

“You look like shit, Ben.” 

Ben gave her a thin smile. “It’s good seeing you too, Siv.” 

“Always a pleasure, my lord,” she sang, giving a miniature bow from her saddle. She turned back down the path, put her fingers between lips and whistled hard. “Phasma! Torben! Found them!” Soon another thirty odd horses joined Siv’s section of the search party.

Phasma dismounted her steed, a silver white stallion named Keldo, crossed over the sticky, wet path and greeted Ben with warm grip on his shoulder. “You survived yourself.”

A phrase the two used when he lost control of Kylo. It was as good of a “I missed you,” as he was going to get from his old friend. “Yes. I did.”

“Your absence was noticed but explained. All is well in the Imperial Fortress and beyond, for now. Still, Poe had half of Core looking for you.” She took a small step back after delivering her report, but paused, finally taking him in with a long accessing look from head to toe. “I am glad you are back, my leader, but…and forgive me for saying this. You…you look like shit.”

Ben threw his hands up. “What is with you Kashyyyk people? I do not look like shit!”

From atop her steed, Vicney, one of Torben’s two mates, pushed her fire red hair to the side as she rummaged around in her saddle bag. She withdrew a mirror and cautiously held it in Ben’s direction.

_That’s twice I have been wrong in one day_. _I_ do _look like shit._

His hair was all over his head like he’d been attacked by a wolf-cat in his sleep. He looked down at his feet and groaned. For all the sky above and the fires below! He didn’t even have on shoes! How had he not noticed he didn’t have on shoes? He whirled on to Rey.

“You let that beast walk around for days without _shoes_?” he screeched.

Rey gave a helpless shrug. “He doesn’t like them. I know you two haven’t exactly been in the same space at the same time but forcing him into a pair of shoes would have been like forcing you to cut your hair.” Rey tilted her head. “And if we can’t get those tangles out, that might be a possibility.”

Ben recoiled, his hands pushing his hair back far, far from her, protecting it. 

“Well, let’s get you guys back to Core. Finn has been brilliant, I won’t lie, but he’s also been a rampaging asshole for the last few days, so the faster we get you back, the better off all of us will be,” Siv chattered. “Maybe except for you, my lord,” she said glancing sidelong at Ben. “He is especially pissed with you.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

Two horses were produced from the back of the litter and soon they were mounted and headed back to Core, surrounded by the search party on all sides. 

He could be patient, wait until they were back home, where he could give her the privacy to finish her spiel. Because he was afraid. Afraid that whatever she said, it would dissipate, and he would wake up to a woman who couldn’t stand him. “So,” he murmured. He leaned closer to her, eyes straight, however, because he didn’t want an audience. “You were going to tell me something back there.”

“I was.” Rey glanced at him for a short moment before returning her attention to the trail ahead of them. “I am.”

“Just not right now?”

Rey laughed softly. “You knew the answer to that before you asked me. No, not right now. But soon. I think it’s time we talked. Really talked.”

“Promise?”

Rey winked at him. “Promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [marquetry](https://www.gardencourtantiques.com/shop/large-marquetry-box-tumbling-block-inlay-early-19th-century/)
> 
> [ Jogan fruit ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jogan_fruit)
> 
> [ Finn's suite - more marble, more orange, but...something like this ](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/393502086164676906/)
> 
> [ rancor ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Rancor)
> 
> [ Eternal Empire ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Eternal_Empire)
> 
> [ Rammahgon ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Rammahgon)
> 
> [ Med'eeth](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Chronicles_of_Med%27eeth)
> 
> [ Makashi](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Form_II/Legends)
> 
> [ Juyo](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Form_VII/Legends)
> 
> [ lung plants ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Lung_plant)
> 
> [ Zakarisz Ghent](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Zakarisz_Ghent)  
> _____________________________  
> Come say hi to my on Twitter. I'm all over the place (we'be been talking about #TheUntamed/#MoDaoZuShi) but I'll talk to you about anything LOL @BlackNerdJade
> 
> I'm really bad at updating tags so if you see one I need to add, let me lazy ass know! Smooch!


	13. return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the central plot (CALAMITY) relies heavily on not only Ben and Rey's relationship, but is majorly influenced by the "beta couples" (not in designation but as in....rank? idk) 
> 
> You'll see how the decisions THEY make influence the decisions people around them have to make. See, this is what happens when you read epic fantasy novels like GOT and have an affinity for ensemble cast.
> 
> Sigh.

**Core Clan Village: Thicket Hux: Bright Tree**

“Well, this is …different,” Snoke muttered.

They’d been traveling for days, almost nonstop if not for Snoke’s insistence that they rest, his old bones grateful for any inn they’d come across. The sluggish journey across Core—the long way, the two of them, easily recognizable—stretched as they took every back path Snoke could think of: the curling trenches and peaks of Appenza, the swampy backside that had them passing in and out of the warring Southern lands, the swampy slush through the marshes that edged Endor until they arrived.

This was the tail end of their latest journey, and this time instead of a cool mountain air of Alderaan, they now stood under the humid canopy of Bright Tree forest, a sprawling collection of large banthahide tents, dipped dyed a bright royal blue that stood out against the vibrant green Endorian trees. The tents weaved along the trunks of the redwoods, snaking deep into the forest. And that was just the floor. Up above was an intricate labyrinth of tree houses and bridges, an awning of wood and rope and leaves.

This was the Hux clan’s settlement in Bright Tree, the humans of the tribe coexisting with Ewok, churi and condor dragon shifters. To signify Hux territory within Bright Tree, each Hux tent was marked with their sigil: a red claw mark with four slashes—one for each of their virtues. What those virtues were, Snoke had never cared to learn.

“True but let’s remember that the Huxes are different,” Gallius muttered. “Under Sloane anyways.”

“You mean how everyone is sleeping with one another and nobody knows whose kid is whose? Hell, is Armitage Hux actually Brendol’s kid?”

“Rae’s word is law, so yes.”

They walked up to a considerably larger tent backed up against a giant Endorian with a ferocious red claw mark ripping across the expanse of the tent flaps, red blood scratched across blue waters. Stationed on either side of the tent’s opening were a pair of shifters, Betas by the smell of them, idling in the shade. As they approached, one popped their heads up. He gave them a bright winsome smile, edged with a friendless that was at odds with his station, and blinked up at them with small cabochon like eyes embedded in an impish face.

“Hi,” he said with a twinkle of his fingers. “Welcome to Thicket Hux, the middlemost of Endor, Bright Tree. How can I help you?”

Snoke raised a brow. “And you are?”

The boy's smile didn’t fade. “I’m Archex, Bright Thicket Guard.” He nodded to the other guard with his head, her mouth parked open as she napped. “That’s Vi Moradi, also a Bright Thicket Guard.” He reached across and shook her shoulder gently. “Vi, we have visitors.”

“You’re the guards,” Gallius asked, disbelief weaved in his tone as he glanced from Archex to Vi Moradi and then back to Archex. Vi Moradi cracked open an eye at Archex’s summons, looking Gallius up and down once, before yawning, her sigh sounding bothered. Still, she straightened her stance a bit, pushing her bright purple hair out of her face and wiping her mouth off on her shoulder.

“Nice hair,” Gallius deadpanned.

Vi Moradi's face read bored and unimpressed. “Nice…” she gave Gallius another slow lazy once over, “wrinkles.”

Snoke smirked. “I like her.”

“I’m sure you do,” she drolled.

“Is Brendol available for visitors?” To their credit, neither guards’ face betrayed any kind of reaction to his question. Snoke himself knew that he was asking for the impossible. No one had seen Brendol for months—he even wondered if Brendol was still alive.

“What do you think?” Vi Moradi said.

Gallius growled. “You know, you’ve got a smart-ass mouth for a—"

Archex rushed to his feet, sliding between them, his hands like it was the only thing stopping an impending war. “I’ll check! I’ll check right now,” he declared as he grabbed a flap of the tent. He disappeared into the royal blue tent while Snoke took a subtle step between the still sitting Vi Moradi and Gallius, replacing Archex.

Moments passed with Gallius snarling at Vi and Vi Moradi looking like she didn’t care if he died on the spot before a shock of hair popped back through the tent opening. “Um, Leader Hux is…uh…unavailable right now. However, Vizer Sloane _might_ be available, and she _might_ not be _._ But, uh, if she _were_ available, hypothetically, she wanted me to ask …Who are you?”

“Does it matter? We aren’t from Mandalore,” Gallius spat.

“Yeah,” Vi Moradi intoed. “They at least have manners.”

Snoke shot both Gallius and Vi Moradi a look of censure before stepping forward. “Tell her it’s Gallius of the First Order and—"

“Snoke? Well, I’ll be damned. Snoke! Alive!” A fruity, smokey voice drifted from the confines of the tent. “I’d recognize that wheezy, tired voice anywhere! They let you out during daytime hours, you shit sack of a wolf?”

The tent flaps peeled back to reveal a woman luxuriating on a massive pillow centered in the middle of a vibrant blue and red striated rug. What could be consisted as a puppy pile of other shifters lounged around her, the small harem of men and women sparing neither of the visitors a shred of attention. One woman had her head in Sloane’s lap, another had draped himself over her back like a fur cowl, and the last, barely dressed, was glued to her side, a tongue sneaking out of their mouth, slithering along Sloane’s ear.

“It _is_ you,” she cooed, her voice dangerously low. “Outstanding.”

Snoke offered her a half ass bow. “You know exile doesn’t mean I’m dead, right.”

Rae Sloane snorted. “Exiled from your village? Parted from your mate? Disowned from the family you took care of for years?” She paused to laugh. “Sounds like they left you for dead and you were as good as dead in my book. Tell me Snoke, do you like what you see? As much as you depend on your godforsaken structure, you’ve all but disappeared under the weight of it,” Rae Sloane chided, her spiel interrupted as the man against her back leaned forward to feed her grapes from a vine which Rae Sloane accepted with a moan. She craned her neck back and kissed…whatever he was to her, on the nose, before glancing back at Snoke. “I used to be like you, beholden to their arbitrary rules. But now? Freedom. Unless…”

“Unless, what?” Snoke was intrigued. Rae Sloane was glib-tongue—on a good day Snoke detested her ability to talk you into and out of anything. On a bad day, Snoke wanted to rip her tongue out. Today was a good day.

“Rumor is that you’ve managed to produce some bastard.” She leaned forward, brown hands and red and blue, smirking. “Rumor’s wording, not mine. A son who is now the Alpha of Alderaan. Impressive. I never once took you for faithful. I wonder how many other pups you’ve got running around Core.”

Never mind. He was going to snatch her tongue clean. “My fidelity is not an issue I wish to discuss with you, seeing as you don’t believe in it either. However, what you say is true. I have found my son and he has been raised to Alpha. Yet I did not do this without help. This shifter is the reason I may grace the lands of Alderaan again with pride,” Snoke said, placing a hand on Gallius’s shoulder. “This is the leader of the First Order.”

“Yeah,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Figured that whole First Order thing out by his scowl. So, Snoke. I know you didn’t travel to the far ends of Core to talk about clan gossip or to introduce me to your friends.” She leaned back into the man’s chest, twirled a finger through the locked twists of the woman in her lap. “What brings you here, _finally_ , after, what? Two centuries of knowing each other?”

“A proposition. A buy in rather. We have sent a set of…packages, delivered directly to the Dyad couple. Both should arrive,” and Snoke made a show of thinking, “today.”

“You’re so accomplished, Snoke,” Rae Sloane gushed rather playfully. “A son of your body who is the Supreme Alpha of Core and another who is the Alpha of Alderaan. What a _proud_ father you must be.”

Snoke ignored her, ignored the quip about who he did or didn’t sire. “Once those packages are delivered, a plan we’ve been sitting on for years, decades even, will be set into motion.”

“Good for you,” Sloane said, her features settling in between something like true joy for Snoke and apathy, a strange place to be. “And these packages are?”

“A catalyst. It will force Core into certain situations that we can take advantage of. Your leader’s son for instance—a former Alpha of Endor, A 2nd seated General in Dyad’s personal Bone Pack,” Snoke paused for effect, which worked because Rae Sloane was actually listening, silent, for once, before he continued. “He’s going to betray the alliance you have with the Eternal Empire and he’s going to do it soon.”

Rae Sloane snorted. “That’s _absolutely_ absurd. Hux knows his duty to this clan. He wouldn’t jeopardize that.”

Snoke clasped his hands behind his back. “I would believe you if I didn’t know that one of those packages would persuade Vaylin, Hux’s intended, and the heir to the Eternal Empire, to pursue the dissolution of their betrothal.”

Sloane contemplated that statement with an odd look on her face. Sloane didn’t become who she was, rise to her position, without being shrewd. She was one of the, if not _the_ , smartest shifter, the most cunning shifter, the most ruthless shifter he’d ever met. But she was meticulous, empathetic even, strategized only for the honor of the Hux clan, lacking the cruelty Gallius and Snoke possessed, and for that he was glad.

A slim brow hand cut through the air, her fingers snapping four times. Without a word of command, Archex and Vi Moradi filed into the tent and stood at attention. “Please escort my lovelies to their tents. Set a fifty perimeter ward.” Both Archex and Vi Moradi nodded, the latter running from the tent. Archex stayed back to herd Sloane’s harem. “Don’t worry, loves,” she crooned as they were ushered away. “I won’t be away from you for long!” As the flaps of the tent closed, Rae Sloane stood, a tumultuous snarl forming on her face.

“Explain,” she demanded as she headed deeper into her tent towards a high-backed rattan chair. “It took blood, sweat, and tears to get that alliance in place. And it wasn’t done out of goddamn love! I hate that old wolf and his stupid Sith! They are literally the most snobbish, tactless, arrogant flies on bantha shit I’ve ever encountered, just because they consider themselves immortal—" Rae Sloane breathed out of her nose, nostrils flaring, collecting herself. “So, I have you two to blame for the dissolution of an alliance that took me forever to form. Thank you, Snoke. Thank you very much. You can leave. I have a disaster to avert.”

Gallius chuckled. “Averting is impossible, Vizer. This seed was planted, not by us, but by _emotion_ , and will grow as high as your largest tree by the end of the day. My soldiers are _very_ good at persuasion and by the time they are done with Vaylin’s real lover, it will take the entire army of Core to stop her from ending the betrothal. A joke to begin with. Nothing will stop Hux from going after his own preferred mate as well.”

“A joke he says,” Sloane scoffed. “And who would be so bold to draw Vaylin’s attention??”

“Kyp Durron.”

Rae Sloane narrowed her eyes. “Kyp Durron. The…boy with the hair and the—” Rae Sloane sputtered, sounding absolutely disgusted. “You’re telling me the peerless and matchless daughter of _Vitiate,_ heir of the entire motherfucking Eternal Empire is in love with _him_?” Rae Sloane snorted. “Alliance or not, that’s just comical! Can you imagine him at Empire court? The man sent his own father’s spirit to some dark hell hole to be tortured for eternity! Maker only knows what he’ll do with Kyp fucking Durron.”

“Whether he can survive The Empire of Zakuul if not my concern. All that matters is that the heir is smitten with him and has been for some time.”

“Vaylin would do anything to piss ole Vit’ off.” She sighed. “And Hux?”

“Mandalore’s Rose Tico,” Snoke supplied. “Daughter of Hue and Thanya Tico, of Hays Minor.

The humor dancing in Rae Sloane’s eyes waned abruptly, like candles in a monsoon. “Mandalore?” she hissed. “Has he gone mad?” she shrieked. “Mandalore?”

“Mad or in love, the results are often the same.”

It wasn’t often that Snoke saw Rae Sloane lose her composure and although he could practically feel the fury emanating from her, she remained seated, lax in her chair. With an air of almost nonchalance, she said, “Their love is deep enough…” she paused and shook her head. “I should have killed Brendol sooner…then I would have had more control. Could have prevented this,” she muttered under her breath.

Well, that answered that question. “You have a choice, Sloane. We’ve already spoken with the Valkorion; the Empire has agreed to join the fold. With that said, this is a chance for you to keep your alliance with them.”

“Keep it?” Rae Sloane asked, sounding oddly hopeful.

“Yes. Side against Mandalore, and in essence, against Core.”

Rae Sloane regarded them both, and their proposition, silently before loud ringing laughter stretched to every corner of her tent. “Are you insane, man?” she shouted in between her laughter. “I am most certainly upset but I’m not ‘committing treason’ upset.”

“Treason is a temporary thing, especially if you side with _the_ future leader of Core,” Snoke supplied.

“For _what_? What good reason would I declare against Core of all places for star’s sake? I am _of_ Core! And so are you! What,” and she laughed, incredulously,” are you planning on going to war? War. So that you can place another leader at the head of Core’s table? Who would be so foolish?” she spat.

Snoke glanced behind him and Gallius took a step forward.

Rae Sloane blinked like Snoke had presented her a pile of rancor shit. “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” she muttered. “No disrespect towards you, good sir, but I know Snoke. He lives for war, some supplemental desire to disrupt, to get attention, to feed bullshit withheld from him as a child. A mother’s love, a father’s acknowledgement—I have never been able to figure it out! Anarchy is in his very blood. And I can tell you have that same hot bloodthirsty spirit as well which is well enough reason I would never support you as leader under these conditions. I hate them, I do, I _hate_ them but I’m not going to war with Mandalore. Fuck the alliance.”

Snoke’s hands clenched behind his back. “Rae Sloane, you’re being unreasonable.”

“And you are being suicidal,” Rae growled.

“You’re making a mistake. Think, just think, of what would happen to this clan if we were to win.”

“No, I’m thinking of what would happen to this clan if you were to lose. I’ve seen too much war. I lost everything in war and I’m just now crawling my way back.” Rae Sloane stood, walked to Snoke and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I cannot aid you in this. It’s foolishness.”

“Favor fortunes the bold.”

Rae Sloane nodded in agreement. “I care not for fortune or boldness. I care about power and my people and I’m not so stupid to hand over what little I have to war.” She made her way past them both. “Abandon this before it’s too late, Snoke. You’ve disgraced yourself enough in one lifetime.”

Maz grumbled while shifting through a small pile of _barenth_ roots sitting on her countertop. She was grumbling because she didn’t understand why her mate needed so many of them—what, was he healing a whole damn village? It only took a drop of extracted liquid and Chewie had her sending him _vials_. Never matter. If he needed, she would provide. She was in the process of a handful to soak in a bowl when the slick thwap of someone passing through the flaps in the foyer sounded.

She glanced at the candle clock, only a wide stump left dripping on the plate to indicate the time. It was late, yet not late enough to deter any customers—she stayed open late just because some of her customers needed to show up late. With the Mating Moon coming soon, it wasn’t strange for shifters to come visit for a number of reasons—aphrodisiacs for Betas or performance enhancers for Alphas and of the sort.

The _barenth_ root was set down as she patiently waited for them to enter, the slow smile of a saleswoman stretching across her face. When they did enter, it was a man, tall, his shoulders wide and his hips slim. There was a heavy black riding cloak lined with red brocade draped over his shoulders. Peeking from the hood was a lopsided grin that instantly put Maz on edge. His boots were thick with muck as if he’d walked some ways before getting there. That was strange to her—it hadn’t rained in days.

Maz was a professional, so she easily hid her discomfort behind an even brighter smile. “Welcome to my shop. What can I help you with?

The grin under the hood pushed out sunken cheeks lined with faint stubble. “Hn. I’ve heard great things about you Maz. You and your ability to help people.”

“Well,” she chuckled,” that’s my job.”

The man nodded before taking a slow stroll around the shop, his thin fingers gliding across vials and bottles full of herbs and roots. “ _Is_ it your job?”

Maz wariness grew, a teabloom under scalding water, and she rubbed her neck, muscles tight, like a hand was gripping her throat. She sniffed once. Although salamander shifters weren’t known for their sensing abilities, their sense of smell was still very accurate. And Maz did not recognize this scent. This scent did not belong to anyone in Takodana, nor Mandalore, nor Endor. All she got back was: Beta, and a rather unpleasant smell, akin to something she smelled when she was younger, when Reyn was still around.

“What is it that you need help with?” Maz repeated, voice firm. She craned her head back, straightened her shoulders. She would not be intimated in her own shop.

“Help,” the man said. He finished his odd perusal of her shop and approached her counter, hands tucked behind his back. “I never said I needed your help,” he spat. “Unlike some of your other customers, I appreciate the way I was made, understand that I was made this way for a reason and that it is dangerous, _heretical_ …to tamper with nature.”

Maz’s eyes narrowed, her hackles fully raised. “Who are you?”

The man pulled his hood back. The smell was unfamiliar and so was the face. She didn’t recognize the face half hidden behind a thick swoop of greasy black hair…but she did recognize the First Order symbol centered on a black headband, the sigil glinting in the candlelight.

“I need you to leave,” she said, dangerously low, but steady. She inhaled sharply, muscles rearranging around her ribs, ready to poke through her skin, the marrow in her bones, the secretions in her tissues, all amped up to drip poison along their pointed tips. 

“Aww,” the man simpered, “now why would I do that when the fun is just about to start?”

Just as he said that, the flaps of her shop sounded again and figures leaked into her storeroom, shadow clothed in heavy hooded cloaks, all black and red, scents layered with that pungent smell of smoke and charred flesh…and _time_.

“I’ve changed my mind, Maz Kanata. It turns out I _do_ need your help. Not with your herbs and your spices and your unnatural talent for aiding and abiding the wretched abominations allowed to run free. No. I just need you to stay nice and quiet. You do that…” He paused, leaned across her counter on an elbow, and tapped her goggles. “And I won’t kill your son.

Fear shot up Maz’s spine, cold like brittle ice on a winter lake. “What have you done with Finn?” she demanded.

The man shrugged. “Nothing.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What are you _going_ to do with him?

“Well,” he said. A length of rope dropped from the sleeves of his robe, and he gestured her forward, as if he fully expected her to comply. “That depends on you and Rey Kenobi, it seems.”

The Imperial Fortress stretched out across the horizon in the distance. It was sleeping, the place almost noiseless as he, Rey, and their hunting party approached in the midnight hours of Core. Across the battlements, a row of sentries ambled back and forth, while a set of mechanics worked on the gate, tools fiddling away at the portcullis. Strange hour to be doing handy work, but Hux had been left in charge of Palace maintenance, he’d been informed, so the fact it was being done ass backwards was unsurprising to Ben.

Although Kashyyyk was only a few days' ride from The Imperial Fortress, they’d taken their time getting back, sending one of the hunting parties ahead to deliver a message to Poe. The days-long search for their leaders must have exhausted most of them because the ride was silent, the clopping of hooves, and the eerie sounds Kashyyyk’s jungle made filling up most of the space.

Still, Siv and Vicney managed to make it entertaining, debating in the circular, fast paced ways the two were bound to argue, debating everything from the awful rule that kept the Oracles from sex until the Mating Moon or Avaal’s affinity for water.

“They have sex in the water, they give birthin water, they _mate_ in the water, they do that weird thing with their cocks in the—"

Vicney held up the hand not wrapped around the reins of her horse. “Siv… _please_. This is why they don’t allow you to be an Ambassador! You insult everything. In detail!”

Siv rolled her eyes. “It’s not an insult! It’s a practical, empirical, and educated observation! They are karking _weird_ , Vicney. Every time Orin tells me something new about their customs, I don’t know whether I should listen for more or cover my ears!”

Vicney huffed. “Just be careful not to make your practical, empirical, educated observations to someone other than Orin. We depend on them as allies and—"

“—For their water filtration. I get it,” Siv drawled. “Speaking of odd traditions…” She looked over her shoulder at Rey who trailed just behind her. “My dear Alpha Prime.”

Rey glanced over from the forest line, the wariness around Siv she’d learned rather quickly broadcasting in her narrowed eyes. “Yes?”

“Is it true that they prepare a special drink for mating rituals in Takodana? You know,” and she snuck a glance around before leaning closer to Rey and whispering so loud it was just short of a yell “…the _Flurrg_ penis wine?”

“Oh, my stars,” Vicney muttered.

Rey jerked so hard on her horse that Ben thought she was going to fall off. “Who–who told you that?” she said, aghast. “That’s disgusting!”

“Yeah, it is,” Siv agreed. “But is it true?”

Rey rubbed the back of her head and looked away, sheepish. “One, Fluug’s don’t have penises, I don’t think. They have…a nozzle? And that…certain _appendage_ is what they used. Eons ago, though! Before my great-grandfather took control. Now we prepare the drink, sans the…you know…nozzle part.”

“Interesting,” Siv purred, her eyes alight with curiosity. “Heard it gets you _really_ in the mood like, uncontrollably horny.”

Rey cleared her throat. “I’ve heard that…it does make you…more…” she cleared her throat again, obviously distressed, obviously uncomfortable, and Ben thought it was the funniest thing ever. Rey, his intended mate, talking about dick wine. “Heated, amorous, I gather. But, honestly, it wasn’t common even back then! They really only used it for arranged matings. An aphrodisiac of sorts to create a romantic atmosphere that would otherwise be unlikely.”

Siv had leaned over so far, she was practically in Rey’s face, lip curled back into a smile like an overeager nerf. “Is that what you and Ben are going to use?”

She said it so fast, the words gushing out of her mouth like a broken dam, that she didn’t realize what she’d said until it passed her lips. Siv slapped a hand over her mouth, her kohl rimmed eyes wide as saucers. The horse procession drew to an _immediate_ halt as if the tension were a tangle of branches and stumps preventing them from going forward.

Rey’s face was absolutely frozen except for a blink or two but Ben had to fight to keep the horror off his face.

“I–I—” Siv stuttered. She looked over to Vicney but her traveling companion looked as if she’d swallowed a bird. Quickly, she jumped from her horse and dropped to a knee before Ben and Rey’s horses. “My Lord Alpha, My Lady Prime, I—I _never_ meant to assume or—or to question. I just…”

Siv was not one to be cowed or shamed, but right now, this was the most disturbed he’d ever seen her. “I am beyond mortified at my choice of words. I only meant...I, uh—"

Ben’s jaw hardened. Not a Siv’s words but…

The truth was he had absolutely no idea how their mating was going to work. If it would work. He knew how he felt it. He’d had some faint idea of it when their names were called, a fuzzy pull towards something deep inside of him, nestled around his instinct like a blanket. 

But he had been beyond certain the moment he turned and saw Rey’s body sprawled across the floor unconscious. He knew it when they moved Rey to her bed, covers to her neck, her body sweating and fevered, trying to fight off whatever it was that was ravaging her body. He knew it when the healer came in and he all but snatched the medication from their hands, choosing to taste it first, knowing his body would have a better chance of fighting off any poisons.

He didn’t trust anybody when it came to Rey and he knew that it was something far more powerful than imprinting or a prophecy driving it.

It was the faint stirrings of love. Premature as hell, fractured, and soft around the edges, but it was love.

So, he wasn’t necessarily the problem, although he’d contributed to it. He wanted to figure it out, but this was a two-body problem. So, instead of trying, he just smiled, it just as premature, fractured and soft around the edges as his emotions.

“Siv, stand up,” he admonished. “You’re getting your clothes dirty.”

“They are already pretty filthy,” she muttered.

He hopped down from his horse with a roll of his eyes, wrapped a hand around her arm and helped her to her feet. He cut a pointed glance at Rey, willing the unease on her face to dissipate. Rey caught it, and with a lurch, eased the tension from her shoulders, pulled a mask of impassiveness over her face. 

“Everyone,” he said, looking over their riding party as they tried to appear as if nothing had happened and failing miserably. “I know you’ve heard rumors—” Ben stopped himself to push a hand through his hair, stopping short when his fingers tangled in a kink. Besides, they weren’t rumors. “I know you’ve heard about the first night the Alpha Prime and I spent together.”

“My Lord,” Vicney whispered, sounding wounded, horrified. “You don’t have to do this. You have nothing to prove to us.”

“It’s Ben. I’ve known most of you for years. _Decades_. Phasma, Siv, you two are now a part of my—” Ben paused, glancing at Rey, who still held fast to the blank look on her face. “Our,” he stressed, “closest guard. Our Bone Pack. All of you depend on us, trust us, and in turn we trust you. And if we are to trust anybody with the truth it should be you.”

He took a step back, then another, and another until he was standing at Rey’s side. He held his hand up to her, palm upturned. She stared at it, bewildered, until he shot her another look.

“Oh,” she whispered under her breath, before she placed her hand in his.

He squeezed it once, a reassurance, or rather, something steady and grounding. Or at least he hoped. “This is…new for us. There will be growing pains, of course. I apologize you all had to bear witness to them. Just know Rey and I are committed to making this work, for Takodana and Alderaan, for the realm, for Core…for _ourselves_.” He hoped. He prayed. “Trust in us. We won’t let you down as your leaders.”

A litany of uneasy smiles was his answer. It was better than the tension. He’d take it.

“Okay,” he announced as he led Siv back to her horse. “Let’s get back to Core. I have a very prickly Imperial Aide who is no doubt very anxious to tear me a new one.”

The walk to the far curve of the first ring—Imperial D’Qar—was a pain. But it was designed that way, one, to be easy to access, and two, far enough that every shifter—and their very sensitive noses—were kept for the overwhelming stink of horse shit.

Although bothersome as all hell, Ben counted himself lucky the walk was so long. It would at the very least keep Finn the hell away from him for a few more moments. Or at least hide his own scent in the odiferous stench because Ben believed Finn could _smell_ fear.

As the group en masse maneuvered their horses towards the sturdy walls and hay covered floors of the stalls, stablehands appeared from their haylofts and took reign of over twenty odd horses. When a stablehand came for Ben’s horse, he offered up his brown mare and headed back towards his private stables.

While Rey was sick, he spent his time between making sure he was at her bedside for as long as possible, training, arranging their court, inducting the former Alphas of Core into their Bone Pack and listening to Finn _go on_ and _on_ about the particulars of the Mating Bond ceremony and Takodonian traditions.

When he wasn’t doing that, he spent time in the stables. Alderaan had gifted him, as a tribute for his accession, with two rare fathiers, sisters, of the deepest black. The taller one Ben took for himself and named her Eclipse. Her sister, Nightdream, was smaller but not by much and had a silver streak in her otherwise pure black mane. Because they’d been freed from slavers, Ben hadn’t wanted to lock them up, so their stall led to a grazing pasture that gave the two sisters the freedom to hopefully heal from the trauma of their past.

When Eclipse saw him, she bleated loudly before pouncing up and down in her stall. Ben laughed and stepped forward until she could shove her muzzle into his welcoming hand.

“Did you miss me, girl? I’m sorry I left without telling you,” he said quietly. The fathier whickered as if she was chastising Ben for his absence. “I know, I know. I promise next time I’ll take you with me. You forgive me?” She whickered again in response, nudging his hand out of the way so she could lay her head against his, her large ears draping down and over his shoulders. Nightdream glared at the act of affection and her own lack of it, and pawed at the ground, blowing hot hair through her nostrils.

“What are you doing?”

Ben jumped as Rey’s curious accent reverberated around the large private stable. He turned slightly, his hand still under Eclipse’s chin, to find Rey peeking into the stable, inquisitive.

“Just visiting my two favorite girls,” he said as he motioned Rey in further. When she didn’t move from the lip of the entrance, he walked backwards, winking at Nightdream, and wrapped a hand around her wrist. “Come closer and say hi.”

With a tug, he pulled Rey up to Eclipse and Nightdream’s stalls. She looked up, and up at the two creatures, mouth agape.

“I’ve never seen one of these before.”

Ben nodded. “They are rare. Most are forced into captivity. Which is why I’m glad we were able to free these two beauties. They behave like horses. Faster, much, much faster, though. I’ve seen you on a horse. You’d fare well on a fathier.”

“I’m sufficient,” Rey quietly mumbled. She reached into a bag of oats slouched beside the stall, next a small trough of jorgan fruit. She withdrew a handful and held it up, and Eclipse made a high pitch excited noise when Rey offered her the oats. “Do these two belong to you?”

“Eclipse does,” Ben answered as he ran his fingers through Eclipse’s thick mane. “Her sister, Nightdream? Well…she’s yours.”

Rey's head shot up. “Mine?”

“Yours. When they were freed, they were trained in the same manner as war horses, Eclipse more for heavy battle, while Nightdream for speed. Both, however, are two of the most glorious creatures in battle I’ve ever seen.”

“They _are_ beautiful, Ben,” Rey gushed. “Absolutely gorgeous.” She glanced up at Ben through her lashes and it was the first time Ben had ever seen Rey—well he didn’t know what her face was doing. “Is this another one of your gifts?” she asked quietly.

Ben crossed his arms across his chest. “No,” he said, a chuckle on his lips. “These would be terrible gifts to a…to a mate.”

Rey straightened, and Ben wasn’t seeing things. She was nervous, her skin flush, her hands, fidgety. “Oh! Of course. Of course.”

He peered at her curiously. “My timing was terrible it seems. I was waiting for you to get well, and I don’t know, offer it up as my nth olive branch. But my wolf is a maniac, so I’ll offer it up as an apology.”

“Ben, it wasn’t that bad. I know you don’t believe me but aside from almost dying a few times, it was lovely. I met—” Then her lips pressed closed. She turned on her heels, Nightdream suddenly capturing all of her attention. “So, this one is Nightdream?”

“Yeah, that’s her. Go on, greet her. I think she has been waiting for you.”

Rey took a step to her left and stared up, tentative. The fathier mare blinked at her, and for a few moments that’s all they did, stare at each other, as if learning one another through sight. It was rather adorable with all the blinking and awe. Then, for no reason at all, Nightdream rushed forward and head-butted her new owner. Rey cried out, her hand rushing to her head as she fell to the ground. Ben rushed to her side and pulled her up to sitting.

“Ooh, are you okay?” Ben asked, wincing as he tried to peel Rey’s hand away from her forehead. It wasn’t bleeding. I guess her having a hard head counted for something. “I forgot about her temper, stars! She tried to bite my hand off the first time I met her.”

Rey glared up at the creature. “Night _dream,_ my ass, you nefarious beast! You’re a nightmare! You’re a night—" Rey paused, the frown slowly melting from her face. Then there was a giggle, a quiet one, so quiet that Ben almost didn’t hear it but soon the giggling escalated to outright laughter as Rey wrapped a hand around her middle and pointed at the fathier. “She’s a night _mare_! Get it! A Night mare!”

A deep line formed between Ben’s brows as she continued to laugh like it was the funniest thing she’d ever heard. “I think you may have hit your head too hard,” Ben murmured. “Let’s get you to your room. Plus,” he said, sniffing. “You could use a bath.”

Rey's laughter quieted but didn’t stop. “Are you trying to say I stink?”

“Absolutely not. But you did mention something about having to wash in stagnant water over the course of three days and you’ve just landed in a hot pile of fathier shit, but I would never, _ever_ say that you stunk. You’re just… _odiferous_.”

Rey glared at him sidelong before lifting her arms and taking a whiff, wincing. “Maker,” she said, aghast. “Fine. Haul me behind the castle and hose me off, sir. Just make sure the water is warm.”

Ben grinned. “I’ll have them put some water on the fire,” he said, pulling her to her feet.”

“I will have you know, however,” Rey said as she took a teetering step towards the stable entrance, still rubbing her head, “that whatever conditions I lived through, _you_ did as well, so while you may not have a wad of poop smeared across your butt, it would still be wise to consider a bath for yourself as well?”

Armitage Hux wouldn’t consider himself exactly patient. He was very good at it, his position as Alpha of Endor had depended on it, and his new duties as a part of Ben and Rey’s Bone Pack required it. But just because he was good at it didn’t mean he liked doing it. It festered inside of him like a boil rubbed wrong. He didn’t like waiting, he didn’t like not having what should rightfully be his, and he didn’t like pretending that he had all the time in the world. _If I say jump, already be prepared to jump. You say, how high, sir? The sky is a good starting place, sir. The stars, if I get a head start, sir._

Because of that, sometimes, because he was trained better than that, Hux had a very, very hard time keeping all corresponding feelings—boredom, irritation, apathy—off his face when he was forced into being patient. Or accommodating. Or…anything he didn’t want to be. 

Which was why he was currently scowling.

Before him sat his intended, Vaylin Tirall et Valkorion, heir to the Eternal Empire, and junior Chief Justice of Zakuul. Hux looked at her balefully as she enthroned herself in one of his lounges, her long legs kicked high onto the round table in the middle of his suite. Between her fingers was a scroll, that she twirled and twirled and twirled and—

Hux sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before leaning his elbows on his knees.

He didn’t…dislike Vaylin. Not at all. She could very well be one of the only people who thought like him. She was ambitiously cruel at times, a trait fostered by her father, haughty, but empathetic, and kind, like her mother. Sometimes, most of the time. And her position as junior Chief Justice impressed Hux—who was not easily impressed at all. He’d had the pleasure of watching her administer said justice through a judgement duel in Zakuul once. Fight lasted five seconds. Her battle magic was _crazy_ scary.

In any other situation, the two of them would have been a perfect match. Except for they were in _this_ situation and it was anything else but perfect.

“What’s that in your hands?” Hux asked, if only to break the monotonous silence.

Vaylin brushed a hand across her forehead, sweeping dark brown hair from it. “A love letter.”

Hux recoiled. “Why…do you have that? That isn’t for me is it?”

Vaylin looked just as disgusted as he felt. “Hell no. Not even with a dead man’s hand would I spend the time to write you a love letter, _dearest_.”

Hux shuddered. “Do not call me that.”

Vaylin moved the scroll she was twirling from in front of her face, peering at him curiously. “Then what should I call you? Lover? Friend? Handsome dipshit with perfect hair?” Vaylin tucked the scroll inside the dangerously low cut of her dress. “It’s for Kyp, of course. I planned on delivering it to him, but he isn’t here.” She eyed him, blazing saffron pinning him in place. “Where is he exactly?”

“Hunting,” Hux lied with grunting ease.

“Hunting.” Vaylin rolled her eyes. “Isn’t he a big shot now? Don’t you people have other people to do the hunting for you? He knew I was coming. Figures that idiot would go gallivanting off into the woods in search of fucking meat when we only have a few days left until the Mating Moon. Then I lose him forever. Perfect timing,” she drawled.

Hux looked at her and rolled his eyes. “You say that so easily.”

“I don’t have a choice, Armiekins.” Hux grimaced at _that_ nickname. “One of us has to be reasonable and if what Finn told Zorri told me is true, that isn’t you, with your inability to keep your paws to yourself where Rose is concerned. Pray tell, are you trying to get caught?”

“I get it. I understand why you are here. You are here to ride my every nerve from here until the eternal caves. I must have done something terrible in a past life to have deserved this. Genocide, destroyed a planet or two, kicked a puppy.”

Vaylin laughed. “Probably something much, much worse.” The Eternal Empire heir placed her chin in her palm. “I have a plan.”

“All of your plans end in considerable pain for those involved.”

“You think you can have love without pain?” She sniffed. “I’m thinking…why not keep them? We mule and suffer through the mating ritual, become endless slaves to one another in that funny way that bonds work, yeah? Keep Mama Sloane and my devil of a father happy. However, we keep what belongs to us. You keep Rose, I keep Kyp, our guardians keep their alliance, everyone is happy.”

Hux scratched his head and considered it for a moment. But only a moment. Yes, keeping Rose would make him happier than he could ever imagine but…

“Except that one day, they _will_ want to mate with someone, they will want that bond. And are we cruel enough to keep them from that? Are we selfless enough to let them go? Can you, Vaylin? Let the love of your life go be happy with someone else while paired with me? Like I said. All of your plans end in pain.”

Vaylin deflated, sinking into her seat, and tossed the scroll away. Hux watched it dropped to the ground like a stone—she must have written him _pages_. “I told him I would find a way. I told him…I _told_ him that I would find a way. I thought about giving it up, you know. Telling my father that I didn’t want to be his heir if being an heir meant losing Kyp. So, I gathered up my courage and I walked to his quarters, brought my hand up to the door to knock and I…I couldn’t. I _couldn’t_ do it and—”

Vaylin bent over the side of the chair and picked up her discarded scroll. “That’s what this says. It’s some fancy, impersonal apology. For letting him down.”

“C’mon, Vaylin, don’t do this to yourself. Our clans have been at each other’s neck for as long as we’ve been alive. You and me? We aren’t letting Rose and Kyp down. We’re just—”

“—Doing our duties,” Vaylin sighed. “I know.” She wiped her face with an exhaustion born of frustration and hopelessness. Without another word, she stood and began to leave.

“Where are you going?” Hux asked.

“For a walk. Want to walk with me?”

Hux _almost_ said yes, because shared misery was better than solitary despair but… “No.”

Vaylin nodded as if she expected that answer and walked out in a whirl of dark clothing and fluttering capes. A moment passed before her head was popping back through the door. “Through all of your bullshit speech about duty and honor remember to make sure not to blame yourself, either. Rose isn’t here and you look like shit. They’ll be back soon, though, right?”

Hux grinned, trying to bright side the hell out of the situation because Vaylin was…alright. “Yeah, they will be.”

The door closed and Hux stared down at his hands, big and useless. They would be back in time. Time enough for all their hearts to be broken.

Ben shook his hair free of the last bits of water from his bath. His hair was growing long again—it always did that when Kylo gained control, grow long and fast as if it didn’t adhere to standard hair growth practices. He was perched on the edge of his bed in nothing but a pair of cotton pants that clung to his damp thighs.

The bath felt good. Ben generally didn’t like baths, he liked freshness, the kiss of cool water across his skin. But after three days as Kylo, the dirt felt like it was ingrained in his skin, and hot water and lard was a necessity to get the muck from up under his nails. And his hair, _gods_. He’d worked diligently to untangle it all because he believed Rey when she said she would cut it for his sake.

Bah.

As he sat quietly, he tried to summon Kylo in the recesses of his mind, but Kylo—the ass—was noncommunicative other than a happy humming noise that buzzed along Ben’s consciousness. That was new. It made him think of the possibilities of an unleashed Kylo around Rey, for three kriffing days, unsupervised that would make his wolf this…giddy. Several things came to mind, but seeing as Rey was in one piece, and nothing about her scent had changed, he was assured he hadn’t done something unforgivable.

Also, Rey smiled more. At him. _At_ him.

He opened his hands and grinned at what was cradled between them. _Gift number four_.

The jewelry casket was made of the dark insides of a _mushlings_ , the wood striations tight cylindrical circles rather than curving loops of other trees. Carved across the top of the box were a few words in Dathomir. Inside were a pair of wooden rings with words he knew, somehow, the meaning whispering in the back of his head, engraved into them.

Deciding now was the best time to gift her, Ben tucked the box under his arm, shouldered his way into his robe and stormed for the hallways. With his robe fluttering in the wake of his excitement, he skid to a barefoot stop in front of Rey’s door. He pushed open the door without thinking.

“Rey! I wanted to wait but I couldn’t and—"

The words slammed into the back of his teeth.

Rey was submerged in a large porcelain bath in the center of her room. Steam rose from the soapy water, the bubbles a trade invented in Avaal. Her head was lolled against a rolled-up towel, her eyes closed, and her mouth slightly parted as the tops of her shoulders rose up and over the water line, then below it. She was asleep.

He felt the faint stirring of pity and concern for her. She had just spent three days with his…spirited wolf. The whole ordeal must have been exhausting. And she’d hid it so well, riding tall on her horse, never complaining, never revealing. A trait of hers.

By now the water had to be tepid and Ben moved forward to wake her. If she was as tired as she looked, it was possibly she wouldn’t stir all night, exhaustion overtaking comfort. And even more, Rey was recently recovered from a poisoning! Damn if he was going to let her get sick again. Moving with that intention, Ben stepped forward, hard aimed for her shoulder but…he stopped.

And he just looked at her. He earned that, hadn’t he?

The bubbles made it look as if his intended was resting in a cloud. A stone cut angel floating impossibly below the stars. Rey’s beauty was inimitable, a hard fists and claws and blood magnificence. Omegas were soft and willowy, and Rey had some of those qualities, sure. Yes. Thinned boned and fragile looking at times. But Rey’s body was a warrior’s body, with sinews and lines and calluses and bruises and scars. It told a story, half of which he could guess—she lived as most Alphas did, brutally. But there was more. And he wanted her to tell him that story, and he would listen as she detailed every bump and bruise, every raise of silvery keloidal skin.

There was one thing about Rey that didn’t need explanation, that didn’t throw Ben askew or make his head hurt. His attraction to her—a deep yearning that seemed natural in how it rooted itself firmly in his chest, however unnatural it was intensity. That he wanted to explore it, _her_ , lay Rey out over soft furs and worship her—with his hands, with his mouth, and his fingers, and skin—the way she deserved to be worshiped.

Anticipation hummed under his skin. In five days, she would give him that permission. Or he hoped. He did not want to die but he would die thinking he was forcing her in any way. Maybe that’s what was so stupid about love. The willingness to perish for it. 

Morbid. _How romantic,_ he thought, disgusted.

Resolved to wake Rey up and get back to his room so he could meditate, get his thoughts in order, he took a step forward.

As a child, Ben was a gangly thing, long limbs that didn’t cooperate and feet, big and cumbersome, often tripped him up. He’d heard the “Tree Demon” rumors. His father thought it was hilarious, considering Han Solo was a tall guy. His grandfather, too. Portraits showed Anakin towering over _everyone_. So, tree demon? No. Alpha blood. As he grew older, he mastered the command over his body, grew into his arms and legs, his feet, a grounding point.

But even masters mess up from time to time.

His foot caught on the snout of the large white pelt sprawled across Rey’s suite floor and he pitched forward towards the porcelain bath with a pathetic, panicked yelp. He caught himself right before his face slapped into the surface of the water. He stared at his reflection, cursed himself for his clumsiness, but also breathed a sigh of relief, huff sending his bangs fluttering. Slowly, as if his body would freak out again, he sat back on his knees and raised his head.

Rey was staring back at him, a thin brow raised. Couldn’t blame her. She woke up from a nap to find her intended mate about to take a dip into her bath water like he was participating in an apple picking contest. She didn’t say anything, though. Just stared. Which felt immeasurably worse.

“I am...um…” Ben's mouth gaped open like a fish washed up on shore before he snapped it shut. He scrambled to his feet, avoiding looking at Rey now that she was awake. He was standing right over her bath now, and if he looked, if he was stupid enough to try, he would likely find out that bubbles aren’t opaque. “I, uh, I came to give you something, but I didn’t realize you were still bathing.”

“I suggested the servants warm your bath first,” Rey said as she looked up at Ben, head tilted as if she were studying him, eyes narrowed curiously. “What is it that you wanted to give me?”

“Oh!” Right. He’d almost forgotten. Ben reached under his arm for his jewelry casket but felt nothing but air. He raised his arm as if it had somehow burrowed into his skin. Of course, it wasn’t there. Frowning, he bent low, anxiously searching the floor for the dark wood box but it was as if it had evaporated. He marched to the edge of the pelt and lifted it up—nothing. He searched behind the curio against the wall, looked under Rey’s bed, and was tempted to lift her entire dresser off the ground.

“ _What_ are you doing?”

“I had it,” Ben’s brow pinched. “Then I didn’t.”

“Do you lose things often?”

“Apparently only important things,” he muttered, erratically thinking of Hyorin, of his mother, of Snoke’s respect. “But I just had it.” _Where could the starblasted thing could have gotten to that fast?_

“Uh.” Rey’s leg stirred in the water, creating a small ripple of bubbles across the surface. Both brows rose as if she’d discovered something and her hand disappeared under the water. Seconds later, the dark box reappeared, wet and sitting on the cup of her palm. “Is this what you’re looking for?”

Ben’s lips flattened into a thin line as he stared at the box. Then he lunged for it, but despite his exceptional speed, and exceptional dexterity, Rey had the exceptional ability to snatch things away before he could grab it. She pulled the box to her chest just as Ben’s extended fingers grazed it. His hand slipped on the edge of the porcelain tub and he had to quickly grab onto the other side in order not to take another near dive into the water.

“Is this going to be thing for you?” she sassed. “Giving me a gift and then reacting like a rabid lothcat when I accept it? Well, if it is, let’s set a rhythm here, hm? I’m going to hold onto this. Now, you can try and get it back, but I am unfortunately naked and unarmed,” Rey said with a twinkle in her eyes. “You will win this time, but at what cost?” When Ben didn’t move, she sat back in her bath, her smiling eyes never leaving his, daring him as she slowly plied the box open.

“Rey, give me back the box.”

“No.”

“Don’t open it.”

“Why not?”

“Rey Kenobi!”

“Benjamin Solo.”

“I had a whole speech prepared,” he _almost_ whined—he had his pride. “You’re ruining everything.”

Rey rolled her eyes. “You’re the strongest wolf I know, a survivor,” she said as the casket opened back on its hinges. “And as with everything else you’d encountered in this life, you’ll survive…this…”

She was speechless, momentarily, another new for her. “What’s this?” she quietly.

Slowly, Ben lowered to his knees, hands braced against the tub once again. “With some clans, this came first, the exchange of rings to symbolize a union. I know it’s not our tradition but…I wanted something to show for us. Wood is natural, from the earth. Nature will always be…as I hope that _we_ will always be. So…” Ben cleared his throat. “I wanted to make sure that you were sure that this…that I was what you wanted. Forever.”

“Ben,” Rey whispered.

“You don’t have to answer tonight,” he rushed to say. “I know things have been weird. That this,” he said, motioning between the two of them, “is…stressful. Uncommon. Weird, but,” and Ben reached forward slowly and extracted Rey’s ring from the box. “This is something that isn’t mandated or expected or demanded of me, like this mating. I wanted…”

Rey’s frown was deep, dipping lower with every second and Ben prepared to bolt. Not to run away but to take a step out of his situation—manage his expectations like he promised himself he would, but before he could, Rey’s hand shot out, still wet from her bath and grabbed him. “Don’t run away from me, Ben. Don’t be afraid of my answer.”

Ben's eyes drifted from the slim fingers wrapped around his wrist to Rey’s eyes, her enigmatic lovely eyes, that looked like they held all of the stars in the sky.

“Stay with me?”

Ben did as he was told, folding himself into a seat on the floor. As he did, Rey shifted so that she could perch her head on the side of the bath

“I want to apologize,” she confessed.

Ben resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “We’ve been through this already, Rey. You don’t have to apologize for—" He quieted when he felt her finger on his lips.

“Let me finish.” When Ben nodded, she retracted his finger. “I am…different. And I now want to quantify how different I am—different from others you’ve been with, others who have been kinder, and softer, more understanding, willing to submit. But that’s not it, that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m just different and because of that difference, I was scared, still _am_ scared, really, and I might be scared for the rest of my life.”

“You’re brave, Rey.” He knew that. He _knew_ that.

“I don’t have any other choice.”

Bravery, courage, those were choices. He wanted to know what she was protecting that didn’t allow her to be vulnerable. He could do that, would do that, try to take the fear out of her life, her voice, so she could just be for once. She was too young to sound _so_ tired.

“I didn’t allow myself to _even_ feel. Do you know what that is like? To shut down every possibility because you think feeling _nothing_ is safer than hope?”

Ben didn’t know, not quite. Because his whole life he’d fought for the things he wanted, because he felt things just that much, that it seemed impossible not to put everything on the line for it. But he was trying to understand. One day, he may.

“It was never you,” she admitted, softly, fervently. “It was me and I am so, so sorry. I thought I was protecting you. I _want_ to protect you, from me. Because I’m not and will never be your equal. And you shouldn’t have to pay for that.”

Ben frowned. “But you are.” Rey _was_ his equal. They wouldn’t have been paired if she wasn’t.

Rey laughed, the melodic tinkle ringing melancholy. “I’m not, not in the way it matters to Core, and I’ve realized that it’s okay. There isn’t anything I can do about it. I just want to compliment you, help you…be good to you.” She drew her lip between her teeth as she reached into the box and withdrew the bigger ring. “I do want to be with you, Ben. I’m tired of acting like I don’t, that I can’t be.” She slipped the ring onto Ben’s finger. “Is that okay?”

It took concentrated effort for Ben to keep his jaw from hitting the floor. Was…was he hearing this correctly? His eyes drifted from Rey’s to the ring now on his finger. “Rey, I—”

Rey’s laugh, bright this time, like the sun shining off an Aldera summit. “Like you said—no answers tonight.” She snapped out a towel and stood, wrapping it around her body swiftly, not leaving Ben enough time to get the glimpse he was hoping for. “They’ll be here with dinner soon. Answer the door for me while I get dressed. We can eat together.”

He didn’t want to eat. He wanted to continue talking. He’d willingly go hungry if they could just keep talking. Yet, like demons were listening, the moment Rey mentioned food, there was a knock at the door. Ben glared at it. “Fucking—,” he cursed. “Yeah, yeah. I got it.”

Ben opened the door. The servant tried to take a step in, but Ben snatched the tray from his hand before slamming the door in their face. He slid the food onto a surface, any surface, and promptly forgot about it.

Food? Who needed food?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLACES  
>  [ Bright Tree](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Bright_Tree_Village)
> 
> THINGS  
> [ Barenth](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Barenth)  
> [Flurrg](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Flurrg) I'm so sorry, they are so cute, and I used them in the most god awful way. >_<  
> [ Fathier](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Fathier) WHO ARE SWEET NOBLE STEEDS WHO DESERVE THE WORLD  
> [ Mushling ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Mushling)  
> [ How a Salamander defends itself ](http://www.californiaherps.com/behavior/salamanderlifehistorydefense.html)
> 
> PEOPLE  
> [ Archex](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Archex)  
> [ Vi Moradidi](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Vi_Moradi)


	14. art thou mine?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "What goes up, must come down, but let's stay in the clouds a little longer, darling."

_“What’s this, Mother?”_

_“It’s a spell book. Your grandmother’s.”_

_“And what’s this?”_

_“Engagement rings.”_

_“Engagement rings? What are engagement rings? Is that another spell?”_

_“Let’s say it’s a spell. Let’s say it’s a spell that promises you to another person, and that person to you, for as long as you want. Maybe even forever.”_

_“Forever? It’s powerful then! Can I use it? Even if I can’t use you and Baba’s magic?”_

_“Anyone can use it.”_

_“What’s the incantation?”_

_“Hm. Try ama’il etandula, ama’il etudala—I am yours and you are mine.”_

_“Am..a’il etandula? That sounds weird.”_

_“It does, doesn’t it? Well, try…I love you.”_

By now Ben was very familiar with Rey’s portion of their suite. Not because he’d been invited in it enough to know, but because he had paced its length enough times to have memorized each corner. When his foot caught—again—on the pelt, he grabbed an unused armchair pushed up against the wall, practically slammed at the foot of her bed and decided to stare at the wall. It was better than staring deeper into the room.

Rey had transformed the same alcove Ben kept his dressing armoire into a dressing station. A divider, carved in a way that allowed Ben peeks of Rey’s form behind it but not enough to actually see anything—not that he was trying to see anything—separated her from the rest of the suite. Incense swirled from the alcove, drenching the room in scents of sandalwood, bergamot and rose.

A combination for relaxation. He was _not_ relaxed.

His attraction to Rey was a few things. One, tradition. Despite his knowledge of how…ephemeral bonds could be—his mother had never truly loved Snoke, tolerated him, accepted her fate—he didn’t, _couldn’t_ imagine, a bond between him and someone so—she definitely wasn’t trusting— _good_ , could turn sour.

Two. Ben was religious. No, he didn’t visit the Appenza Peak and study the scrolls and build the shrines and leave his sacrifices for the Gods as he should. He wasn’t that sort of religious. He was…very aware, as his connection with the Gods and with nature and with everything around him was heightened. He was a master of the Force. He had no choice but to accept because he had empirical evidence of higher, if not all-encompassing, power.

Three—it was actually a fucking mystery to him. When he was young, he imagined himself settling down with a sweet natured, docile, accommodating Omega—the bullshit that had been drilled in his head by Snoke, even when his mother, an Omega, was the absolute fiercest thing he’d ever met. But still he had his dreams. He’d never been with another Alpha before. He knew the lure of an Omega, the temptation of their slick nectar, the absolute irresistibility of their nature. He always knew he would be a leader, and he always wanted the trappings of one—an Omegan mate and strong sturdy Alphan children.

Rey’s gravitational force made _no_ sense. She was beautiful, but there was nothing about Rey that matched his dreams. An Alpha’s job was to knot an Omega while in heat. He couldn’t do that with her. An Alpha’s job was to protect his mate. She didn’t need that.

She didn’t need him.

He couldn’t even scent her the way his Alpha was driven to do. Just because he was in love with it, didn’t mean Kylo should respond to it. Even though he did.

It hurt his head. Rey made his blood boil in a different way. Where Omegan women would offer him surrender, Rey offered him a challenge, and _that_ stirred his Alpha, stirred him.

And right now he was very stirred.

Eventually, Rey came from behind the screen, humming as she towel-dried brown hair that clung to her neck and face. She’d selected a nightgown, a diaphanous cream color trimmed gold, that draped to the floor, swirling around her feet with every step. All of this was covered by a robe—one that Ben hadn’t given her. That one was in need of a very good washing. Around her neck was a liquid filled phial on a thin chain—a personal olfa that neutralized the notes of Omega that he would smell otherwise.

She hoped she looked…tempting to him without that to entice him. She hoped he wanted her, still, even if she was damaged, even if she was different.

He was staring at her and Rey didn’t know what that meant. She was sure she was staring, too. That heady, tempting smell of an Alpha was rolling off him in waves. Not enough to wake up her wolf, but it was, by gods, enough. It made it difficult to think. In their tent, so many days ago, his scent had been tempting, too, but she’d been far too concerned with her life to be affected as she was now.

He smelled delectable. Her eyes roamed over every inch of skin he offered to her, once again cataloging just how much space he took up in every room he was in. He was the quintessential Alpha, strong, a frame of muscle and hard work and sweat and blood, and…

Rey almost stumbled with the realization. He…did want her.

He didn’t have to say it like he’d said it in the past. He didn’t have to declare it. She could smell it.

“Do you have any idea what you do to me?”

The question—deep and rumbling and delicious—set her on fire.

Rey’s gaze snapped up from his shoulders—wonders of the world, really—snap from her imagination, from what her brain was telling her his skin tasted like. “No,” she answered honestly. “Tell me.” She could feel his heart in his chest, racing away like a horse gunning for freedom. But she wasn’t just a stubborn mule. She could tease if she wanted.

He wasn’t saying anything, lips parted as if the words were balancing between teeth and tongue and lips. The almost bewildered look was replaced, momentarily by a pained look, like he was having trouble maintaining control. Which would be a problem. She needed to show Ben what he did to her. She needed Ben to experience her words.

“Ben,” she repeated. He looked up at her, lost, awed by something. “Tell me.”

Ben was confident, but unsure. Kylo was headstrong, but unrepentant. The look on Ben’s face was an amalgamation of both, the bad cast aside. 

Looming wasn’t exactly what Ben did. It wasn’t his fault he was so freakishly tall and broad that he blotted out everything else. He just consumed space, sucking it in like whirlpool, drawing you in, until you had no choice but to surrender to the coolness of his shadow. “I don’t know why I want you.”

That. That wasn’t the expected response. It wasn’t an expected response at all. “Well then,” she said, clearing her throat. “Let’s skip the logic part then—”

“But I do,” he rumbled. “And it could be that there is so much of me that wants so much of you that the words haven’t been invented yet. But this is beyond me “telling” you anything.”

For a moment, Ben just looked at her, eyes sweeping up and down her form. She isn’t a short woman, but she felt absolutely tiny in front of him. It stoked at the small part of her Omega biology she could access, the desire to bare her neck to him, to give him anything he wanted.

Alpha.

Her gland was pulsing, in time with his heartbeat and it wasn’t slick pooling between her legs, but it was something, molten desire, hot and creamy. Despite the invocative spell she knew slick created in an Alpha, she knew he could still smell her own need, thick and heady in the air.

He sniffed once. “Rey,” he growled, reaching for her. His hand stopped, hovering near her arm. Rey looked down at it, then up at him. She could feel, sense, see tension vibrating through him.

He was afraid to touch her.

She’d made him afraid to touch her.

So, she made the decision for him, bypassing his fear, his apprehension. Her hand was on his, guiding, then his hand was on her, resting. It was all he needed, her boldness breaking whatever spell kept him away from her. “Rey,” he said again, his hand now sliding around her neck to her nape, his palm burning wherever he touched, calloused fingers hovering over her mating gland.

The fact she could even feel it was something of a mystery to her.

This kiss was different, and Rey was beginning to think they would all be different, that she would have to start cataloging the way Ben kissed her. Soft. Bruising. Lush. This kiss was soft, a brush of his lips across hers, and this time it was Rey who was frozen.

He paused at her inaction. “To quote a woman, stubborn as a mule, she is, irritated at not being kissed back—This is not the reaction I look for when I do this,” Ben murmured against her lips.

Oh. _Oh_. Two could play this game. She lowered herself down from her tiptoes, shocked that she’d met him halfway without realizing it. “I’m surprised you’re looking for a reaction at all,” Rey droned, brow inching towards his hairline.

Ben grinned. “Devil.” And he swallowed her retort with his next kiss as he pressed forward, his hands sinking into Rey’s hair, his full lips crashing against hers. His hands were on her shoulders, pushing her back, back, until the entire length of her bumped into the wall. Ben crowded her, caged her in. And Rey didn’t feel trapped like she always thought she would be. She felt free, _alive_. 

Rey whined as Ben’s hands drifted from her hair, down her body to grip her hips, bruising as he pressed her harder up against the wall. He fought with her robe, yanking it off, until her arms were bare and free.

Ben tried to smother Rey with himself, tried to cover every inch of Rey’s body with his, using the wall as leverage so that Rey could not escape. Not that she was going _anywhere_. Ben found the strength, she didn’t know how because she lacked it, to break this kiss, eyes dipping to her kiss swollen lips. He managed to press _even closer_ as he mouth at the expanse of her neck, curling his tongue over her pulse, his breath moist and hot.

Timeless, the only sounds in Rey’s suite was the soft, plush, wet noise of mouths against skin, tongues and heat and a desire so pungent Rey’s cunt fluttered and pulsed. 

She was moments, _moments_ away from saying ‘Fuck it.” They didn’t need to wait for a moon to screw each other senseless, they just needed this, they just needed now. But she didn’t get the chance because Ben’s soft kisses became biting nips. Then his mouth was open and wide, like he planned to consume her. But he didn’t. Not in the way she thought he was. There, his lips, and his teeth, and pressure, a canine against her jugular.

Frowning, Rey jostled in his grip, but his arms wrapped around her, immobilizing her.

“Say it,” Ben demanded hotly against her neck.

Swallowing hard against the pressure of his teeth, Rey hissed. “Say _what_ , Ben? You are Ben, right?” God damn it all! She tried to remember her lessons. Deference. He was…looking for deference. 

He drew back from his bite and whispered words against her neck, against her cheek, his breath harsh against her skin. “Say it. Say that you want this. I can’t and I won’t force you to do anything. But I need you to want this.”

“Ben,” she growled.

“And if you do,” he murmured. “I’ll give you _everything_ that is mine to give. My power, my protection, my _life_ , should you ever need it, Rey Kenobi. I just need to hear it. Please,” he begged. He clamped back down, and Rey was left with a choice.

She went lax, almost limp in his arms, submitting to him. He caught her, hugged her tight to him. Something in his chest rumbled, purred, vibrated against her, and the grip on her neck abated, replaced by soft kisses, a faint whine on the end of press of his lips.

“I want you, Ben,” she confessed.

Then tension bled from him like water out of a windswept dam.

“I will give you _everything_ , Rey.” 

He slid a knee between her legs, solid and heated, as he slid the straps of her nightgown down. “I desire all that you have to give.” It came out as a heated growl, a roar, a proclamation, marking him as her own. “It belongs to me. You belong to me.”

Then Ben’s hands were everywhere, touching every stretch of warm skin he could get his hands on. Rey encouraged him verbally— _I love your hands, touch me there, yes, yes, Ben, there_ —and physically, whispering hunger and desire against his skin, her hands clenched around his shoulders.

But.

Even though Kylo had control of their mind, it was still Ben’s body who had been left high and dry that night in the cave in Ossus. And Rey wanted to remedy that. Ben was busy trying to figure out the other ties of her nightgown and he almost yelped when her fingers clamped down on his wrist.

Ben looked up from his wrist to Rey, confusion swirling in those deep brown eyes. “What is it?” he said, taking a step back. “Did I—”

A corner of Rey’s mouth curled. Without warning, she yanked hard on Ben’s wrist and pivoted until it was his back flush against the wall.

Ben blinked as he registered their changed position. “Uh…”

Rey had an uncanny knack for improvisation, amongst other things sturdier, like survival. And for all that Rey was serious—she had to be—she was quite playful. “New game. Promise me you’re going to be a good boy.”

His eyes narrowed and instead of listening, he reached for her again. So, she smacked his hand away.

“Promise me.”

His shoulders slumped. “Rey,” he tried.

“Hm?”

“Rey,” he tried again, voice deep and commanding, an Alpha’s command. Too bad those tricks would not work on her.

Rey lowered her hands to her side. “Yes?”

“I would like to touch you. Again.”

She tilted her head to the side, tsking. “That’s one of the rules, Benjamin. You don’t move unless I say so. Keep your hands to yourself. Would you like to play this game, or would you like to retire for the evening?”

Ben’s head followed his nose as he searched for something—her scent, something to calm him down, maybe—and when he found it, he inhaled slowly, and with that exhale, nodded.

“Look at you being such a good Alpha for me. My good, good boy,” Rey purred. It wasn’t the praise from an Omega’s lips, desperate and needy. It had all the confidence and steadiness of a true Alpha, something Rey has honed for years and years. Ben did react to it, however, his chest puffing out like he was proud he’d done something right.

He had.

And Rey would reward him.

“Remember the rules, Ben. Try closing your eyes, that should help, yeah?”

“I’d rather look at you.”

Rey smirked. “I’m not going anywhere. There is no rush.”

This time Ben swallowed, his brown eyes locked with hers, until he slowly, slowly, lowered his lids.

Rey’s gaze flicked up and down his body. “Good,” she whispered, wrecked. “Stay just like that.” She touched him, awed that she could, like this, her small hands pressed against his skin, over muscle that didn’t give when she pressed harder.

All of him was just…just _so much_.

She made quick work of his belt and his sleeping pants, forcing him to step out of them. She watched with faint amusement as his hands clenched at his side.

“Rey,” he half-growled. “What are you doing?”

“I’m doing what I want to do. Do you have a problem with that?”

“No. it’s just that I’m—”

“—Being admired by a woman who will soon be your mate. You don’t get to have all the fun. I want to look and—” she stepped forward and ran one finger up his thigh, massive and muscled like the rest of him, “—and touch, too.”

He nodded like a school child being praised. “You can…you can do whatever you want,” he said gulping.

An Alpha surrendering control? Her weak Omegan senses warred with Rey’s personality, REy relishing it, her biology demanding for her to submit, to apologize. But between the two of them, Rey would always have control over nature.

Rey dropped to her knees slowly, lips skimming skin here and there. On her way down, she could see Ben’s throat working, swallowing, like he was guzzling water. Then she came face to face with what she’d just claimed ownership over.

She had a vague idea of his size, staring at it from the other side of a small window, across and down into a grotto. Scale and depth of perception allowed her a wonderful guess. Big. It was like looking at a monolith from across a field. You knew it was sizable but it wasn’t until it was right up on your that you realized that…yes, Ben was huge, a massive walking mountain. And yes, Ben was an Alpha, science dictated he be sizable. But proportions. Every part of Ben was proportionate.

Huge, huge, huge, and yes, _huge_.

Rey’s dealt with larger challenges—not of this sort, however—and she was no stranger to the male anatomy—as Alpha, she’d made it a requirement to be notified of any unnatural deaths, so she spent a lot of time in the morgue helping Buring, the village mortician. Macabre, but that counted. Somewhat.

She could do this. But first, a warning.

“I’ve…never done this.”

And, really, Ben was the nicest Alpha she’d ever met, considerate. But she didn’t want considerate. She wanted him to lose control. As soon as he opened his mouth to protest, Rey gave him one long lick, from the base to just under the tip.

He didn’t make a sound, but Rey heard his head thud forcefully against the wall.

She liked that reaction, so she did it again, this time sucking the tip into her mouth like it was a sugared cherry.

A whimper. His fists were clenched so tight they were turning white at the knuckles.

Good.

She laved at him, pressed warm, moist kisses to the length of him, she flicked her tongue across the underside of him.

“Gods, above. Fuck,” he cursed. “Fuck.”

Rey placed her hands on either side of Ben’s hips and slowly worked her way down, not all of him, but as much as she could, humming in pride that she made it this far. That caused him to jolt, and his hips thrust forward. Rey choked and pulled back.

His lips parted, an apology on the tip of his tongue, and really, Rey just wanted him to fall apart. He was still coherent, so she shoved a hand against his hips, heard his bare ass smack against the wall, felt the vibrations of the impact.

He looked down, shocked. She stared up; brow raised. His shock melted into a smirk.

“Looks like I’m to be mated to a fierce little thing— _fuck_.”

She’d swallowed him down, and what she couldn’t fit, she worked with her hands, setting a pace that she hoped would wipe that smug grin off his face.

Rey pulled back, just as slow, her tongue sweeping the underside of Ben’s cock before twirling her tongue around the tip. She remembered Finn giving her way too much information after creeping back into Takodana from Mandalore. Then she’d been embarrassed, trying to sing over him shouting his lewd tale. Now, she was grateful she’d heard _some_ of it.

One of her hands drifted from where she had Ben pinned against the wall to between his legs. It felt strange but she just went for it, she cupped his balls.

He was babbling nonsensically now and that was exactly what she wanted. “Rey, Rey, _Rey_ , my Rey, you’re so fucking good to me.”

She squeezed softly, swallowed hard around what she had in her mouth and then watched in ragged delight as Ben’s eyes popped opened. He gasped Rey’s name. And there. _There_. Ben losing control…yet staying with her.

She’d never tasted cum before. It was…strange, salty, nutty and it smelled like him, skin and sweat and his scent magnified to undeniable levels.

He was panting above her like some kind of _Sithspawn_ in a holy temple and Rey, the Omega, felt _powerful_.

Ben slid to the floor, and Rey watched him collapse, slowly, like a building imploding. He was staring at her, like Kylo had, that awed, drowned look, sincere and flooring.

“Come here,” he said, his voice rough and raw. He looked ruined, but Rey’s momentary desire for power was leaving her, replaced by the fact that…she’d just done that. With him. For him. She felt vulnerable, like an abraded cut deep inside of her chest. Still, she crawled over to him and into his arms. “Rey.” She didn’t look at him. Refused to look at him. He put a finger under her chin, still sticky with him, and she wanted to push her hand away because that was gross, she was gross and—

“Rey. Sweetheart. That was…you are amazing. I don’t know what changed. Your mind, I mean, but—I’m—I’m—I am _reverent_.”

Rey relaxed, boneless in his arms, his praise warming her over. “It was a thank you, I guess.”

Ben grunted his confusion.

“For your patience. For not giving up on me.”

Ben kissed her temple, chuckling against it. “You may be the most obdurate woman in this clan, but I’m twice as hard headed as you. I wasn’t giving up on you, never planned on it. I wanted too much, too fast, Rey. I wanted what my Mom and Dad had _immediately_. I never opened my mouth to say that, I just demanded. You slowed me down. You’re unbelievable.”

Suddenly, Rey knew what to do. She twisted, reaching inside of Ben’s discarded pants and withdrew the box, then withdrew the ring. She placed it in Ben’s hand. “Make a proper wolf out of me,” she said, grinning. And he grinned right back at her. Rey really liked when he grinned, when he smiled. He was so beautiful when he was happy.

Concentrating, like this was the single most important task he’d ever done, slid the ring onto Rey’s slim finger. When it was snug above her knuckle, Rey ducked her head, hiding her smile. Because she was positively giddy.

She settled back into his arms, the back of her head finding a docking space along his shoulder, and thought occurred to her. “It might be too late to ask this since you’re now beholden to me forever and ever and _ever_ but…what does this say?”

Ben blinked at her, then down at the rings. “The words on the box these rings came in say _evidag su kærlighedu_ —ancient Dathomir for “Eternal Love”. They believed in a different kind of bond, one not tied to mating, a mage bond. Nothing we can replicate but the words are _strong._ Its spell is strong _._ They believe in reincarnated love. Cycles and cycles of it, eternally, on and on and on. Their bonds linked across time and worlds. If one half died, the other searched for them, in this life or the next.”

Rey’s brow furrowed. “What about heartsickness? If it’s true love, the chances of heartsickness are…”

He kissed her temple. “Can you really die of a broken heart when you know that _somewhere_ out there your mate is just waiting for you?”

Rey…didn’t know what to do with that information. She thought of Julien, who’d pledged his life to Rey’s safety after the death of his mate. Was Coriander somewhere waiting for him, peaceful with the knowledge she would see him again. Was her father with her mother now?

“You know, it’s funny.”

“Yes, all this talk of death minutes after sex is hilarious, Ben.”

He poked her just under her rib and she jumped, giggling. “Because my mother mated with Snoke, she actually met her _‘evidag yang_ ’—eternal soul mate. They are still together…to this day.”

Rey’s head snapped backwards, disbelief pinching her brows. “But…but I thought Han died. They said you…you killed him to ascend to Alpha.”

Ben grimaced. “That isn’t…entirely true. Have I…has anyone ever told you why Snoke was forced out of Alderaan?”

Rey nodded. “He led a revolt.”

“Yes. Years after my mother escaped, he’d hired a mage bounty hunter to track her down, and although the hunter picked up no traces of my mother, he did find traces of Han. The problem was, Snoke couldn’t do anything with the information. There wasn’t enough proof to challenge Han for, what was by Core standards, treason. Mage bounty hunters are illegal. But leave it to Snoke—he stormed Han’s council meeting, blamed him, in front of everyone, for his mate leaving. Told the world that Leia’s children were not his, that Han had been poisoning his mate for years.

“When the council all but rolled their eyes at him—whether they’d been privy to that information or just outright didn’t believe him—and threw him out, he led his revolt.

“It failed.”

“It failed,” Ben confirmed. “After Han dealt with Snoke and his exile, he came to me, tired, lonely. “I’m going to go find your mom, kid,” he had said. I was happy because Han had always protected my mother’s reputation, would never let anyone bad mouth her in his presence. But then, he could go protect her in the flesh. So…we came up with a plan, one that wouldn’t lead Snoke to her. We… faked his death. And he went to her.”

“Stars, Ben. Tell me…has there ever been a thing you wanted, that you wouldn’t move heaven and earth to get?”

“No. Not really,” Ben sighed and touched the ring. “I’ve had these rings with me since I was a child. They aren’t Dothamirian—I don’t even know what language this is, either. Just words my mom taught me. _Ama’il etandula ama’il etudala.”_

_Nihil tut’jahli means let no harm come to pass. It’s a vow Wanderers take when they pick a mate. Pact of protection._

Rey knew why _he_ knew, but it was not the right time to tell him that. “What,” she cleared her throat. “What does that mean?”

Ben didn’t really have the capacity to look shy. He tried, but it always came off as brooding, almost surly embarrassment. “I am yours,” he murmured. “You are mine.”

She plucked his hand where it had fallen to her hip, and intertwined their fingers, before she raised both, looking at their matching rings.

The silence settled between them, warm, soothing, neither of them rushing to break it. Rey felt him in all the other ways that mattered, his scent, wrapping around her like fresh bath water, his arms, snug around her waist, protective and affectionate. She felt him lower his nose into her hair, inhaling deep, like he needed her scent to fill his lungs. Then Ben broke the silence.

“Can I ask you a question, Rey?” he asked, nose still pressed against the crown of Rey’s head.

Rey nodded, pushing back further into Ben’s arms, her eyes fluttering shut. She could fall asleep right here.

“Are you mine?” he asked, his voice so low, tinted with apprehension and uncertainty, despite everything. And she never wanted him to feel that way again.

Rey slowly extracted herself from him, even if she didn’t want to, turning she could look at him, in his eyes. Flakes of gold seem to radiate back to her, his chest full as if he wouldn’t breath until he heard her answer. Her gaze drifted from his face, to his chest, to his hand. Reaching for it, she brought it to her lips, brushing a soft kiss across his knuckles.

“I am yours.”

“I think about this suite a lot.”

“Mn.”

“And it’s a nice suite, don’t get me wrong. Very nice. It just could be…better.”

“Better?”

“Correct. Better. I could stand you right there. And then get you really, really worked up—I now know how to do that—get that battle magic all simmering and sloshing about, and then—BOOM! Force explosion! No more walls.”

Ben cracked open an eye, squinting as the first pale rays of the grey cascaded through the window and into Rey’s room. Rey was looking up at him from the comfort of Ben’s shoulder. Her jaw was moving in small circles around a stalk of celery, crunching on it like a little rabbit. It was much too early for breakfast, so it had to be leftovers from dinner the night before. His stomach protested and he thought about calling out for something but no. Rey shifted and her weight against him, the feel of her chest moving against his, the silk of her hair trailing across his shoulder when she moved…the feeling of their hearts beating in his chest, like a chase across an echoing room…eclipsed the biting rumbling of hunger.

He realized last night, after their bedroom antics, that they were _almost_ completely imprinted on each other. That every time they were close, the beating of their hearts would speak to one another, speed up or slow down to compliment the other—it was uncanny. He’d never imprinted on anyone, not his mother, his father, siblings, not Snoke. The one off was so minute that to him, it felt like the steady beating of drums to a song, a dance they could both fall into, live in.

The shift was small, as simple as Rey opening her arms and welcoming him in. And that’s all it took to change everything.

His musings were interrupted when Rey abruptly sat up, her green eyes narrowed down at him. She snatched the stalk from her mouth and pointed it at him. “Can I take your silence as a yes?”

“You want to tear down the wall?” Ben snorted. “Last time I brought that up you said,” and Ben made a show of trying to remember, “We live _near_ each other, not with. It’s better that way,” he parroted, mimicking her accent.

She tongued her cheek, her brows flashing to her hairline. “I did say that, didn’t I. You with your perfect memory. Fine.” She swung her feet towards the floor. “Leave the _karking_ wall up, then. That way when you piss me off, which I predict will be often, I’ll have somewhere to go!” Rey said over her shoulder as she stood, grabbing for her robe.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Ben growled as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back down to the bed. She yelped, then shrieked as she was yanked back, the shrill sound melting into laughter as her back hit the mattress. Ben took advantage, moving to straddle Rey, locking her between his knees before bending forward, hovering over her.

“Are you saying you wouldn’t mind living with me?” Ben asked, his voice soft and husky sounding. He lowered his head to his favorite spot on Rey, the freckled tan expanse of her neck. _She tasted like sunshine_ , he thought as he nuzzled her soft skin until he reached her ear, using his chin to keep Rey’s shoulder from shutting him out. “Is that it?”

Rey curled her hands into Ben’s hair, humming delightfully as Ben stretched out and pressed against her, their bodies fitting together like two puzzle pieces. She wrapped her legs around his hips so he couldn’t escape. “It wouldn’t be so bad,” Rey murmured. “We’re keeping my bed, though. Your bed is too big and pointy and,” she gasped when Ben rolled his hips down into her, “intimidating.”

“Wrong word, sweetheart. Not intimidating. My bed is sexy,” Ben said hotly against her ear. “Y _ou_ are sexy.” Ben gripped Rey’s thigh and hiked it higher, tucking her foot into the small of his back before rolling his hips down against her again. Her eyes fluttered when he did that, a soft mewling sound floated from the back of her throat and a sufficient amount of blood flooded his cock. “That, my dear, is the perfect combination for _sex_.”

“You are impossible, Supreme Alpha,” Rey hissed.

“Oh, yes. I like that,” he rumbled. “Call me that again—"

If there was one thing Ben had learned about the universe, it was that the universe had no concept of time. It stretched and shrunk as it wanted to. It didn’t understand the concept of a “good and a bad time.” Which is why it was just perfect that as Ben’s hand was slinking under Rey’s shirt, did someone knock on her door.

_No._

He firmly attached his mouth to Rey’s collarbone, deciding it was much more worthy of his attention than whoever the fuck was on the other side of that door. Another knock was followed by a nervous but loud, “Lady Rey? Alpha Prime?”

“She is busy!” Ben yelled at the door.

“Oh!” someone, whoever it was, on the other side of the door yelped. “Supreme Alpha? My Lord, I—I didn’t know you two…were…uh...together. I went to your room, but you weren’t there—" The voice trailed off and Ben was going to yank open that door and toss them _across_ the Pavilion.

“Yes, because both of your Alphas,” Ben snarled, “Are busy. _Together_! Knock again and you’ll wish you were never born.”

“There is a reason the phrase “Don’t kill the messenger” exist, Benjamin,” Rey glowered.

“He’s still alive, isn’t he?” he snapped. Ben then eyed Rey like she was prey cornered on a hunt. “Now. Where were we? Oh, you were just about to say—"

Another knock. _I’ll be goddamned._ His eyes slid shut and his head dropped to Rey’s chest…her very soft, perky chest, Ben added. The chest he was hoping to get more acquainted with if people would just stop knocking on the fucking door!

“What?” he roared. “What do you people want? The fucking sun isn’t even up yet!”

“Ben. I’m sure you two are having fun—finally—but open the damn door! This is serious!”

That was Poe. Shit. Shit. Shit.

He was, after all, the leader of this entire clan, he should act like it even if his dick was hard enough to stab someone to death. Sliding off the bed, and not even trying to hide his erection, he marched to Rey’s heavy wooden door and threw it open. “This better be good.”

“Since when is an emergency good news?” Poe rejoined, shoving a scroll into Ben’s hand. He glanced over Ben’s shoulder at Rey. She had stood, robe secured, looking more put together than he did in a pair of thin pajamas pants and his cock pointing at people obscenely. “We tried to handle this but it’s obvious we need guidance. Something has happened.”

Ben frowned, glancing down at the scroll. He read it. Then he read it again. Anger welled up around his throat, almost choking, and he reread it a third time just to be sure. When he decided he had enough, he crushed it in his hands. “Gather leadership in the High Council room, hour of the Dragon.”

Poe nodded and was gone, leaving Ben and Rey the time Ben wished he could get back. Now, not for the reasons he once wanted, but because it meant that he could walk back time. If he could walk back time, then maybe, _maybe_ this wouldn’t be happening. 

Rey frowned, her eyes drifting to the balled-up scroll, then to Ben. “What happened?”

He looked back at her and guilt sang sweet across the back of his neck. He hadn’t told her what he’d done. He hadn’t had the time. “Someone is holding our recon team for ransom.”


	15. precipice

The tension in the High Council room was thick and heavy in the air, inescapable.

The room, transformed by the diligent care of the custodians, looked different, felt different. Warmer. Less haunted by the ghost of former inhabitants and the decisions they had to make. The lives they had to wager. The deaths on their hands.

Ben and Rey sat at two high backed chairs, both carved out of large pieces of stone and jadeite. Bracketed to the wall behind Ben was the cool deep green and brilliant blue of Alderaan’s sigil. Behind Rey, the crisp colors of fresh spring leaves and a crystal-clear lake. Both flags complementary, even if they meant different things, mountains and cold bitter air or a dense canopy of leaves and warm freshwater lapping at your ankles. Ben guessed he should find some comfort in that, comfort with her by his side. But he didn’t. He didn’t feel comfort, he didn’t feel the fireplace roaring at his back. He barely felt anything other than anger, his hand trembling with the force of it.

The High Council table—lengthy, somber, tell-tell engravings along its surface to mark its long history table—sat everyone that he and Rey trusted. A collection of confidants and advisors—Poe and Hux, Phasma, Siv, Torben, Finn. Jacen sat huddled in a corner, facing the walls, eyes focused on a middle distance that didn’t exist. Paige stood up at every noise she heard, like she was waiting for someone, Rose, to walk through the door. Ap’lek and Kuruk were there, quiet, contemplative.

The fact the room was so full made those who were missing all the more starker.

“Kuruk.”

The Guard Master snapped to attention, relying on formality in the face of current futility.

“The letter. Please read the letter again,” Rey commanded solemnly. Ben reached for Rey’s hand like it was a habit, one formed fast like the bright flash of lightning, but felt withstanding like the rolling rumble of thunder. She didn’t look his way, and her chin had that tilt—one he once hated, but now, one that assured him—but under the table, her fingers slid against his hand, a thumb caressing his palm before she carded their fingers together.

“At once, my lady.” He flattened it out on the table, the wrinkles and folds still evident from when Ben crumpled it up.

_We, by way of obligation and contract, have intercepted Rose Tico, First of Mandalore, Kyp Durron, First of Endor, Jaina Solo, Mageis of Alderaan, and Temmin "Snap" Wexley before they could trespass on the lands owned and ruled upon by the First Order. As such and by request, we have removed these transgressors from First Order territory lands and are holding them at an undisclosed location. We will reveal this location and release these prisoners into the custody of Core under the condition that twenty diamond dragons be exchanged for their persons. Send back the white hawk by high noon tomorrow with your answer to continue further negotiations. If this condition is not met by morrow’s sunfall, we will have no choice but to punish them according to First Order tradition—execution._

_**Ogg, son of Ogg** _

“If I may?” Kuruk stepped back from the scroll as if it would catch on fire. “I would like to…offer my conjecture on this matter.”

Rey nodded. Ben gestured with his hand to proceed.

“Without a surname, we were unable to track the name ‘Ogg’ down to any specific region. It is a quite popular given name. What we are all aware of is that this is a ransom letter. There are certain ways those are delivered, usually accompanied by an anchor—a dead body, by protected messenger, that sort. This letter, however, was found, almost by accident, hidden amongst the letters set aside for your Lord and Lady’s review. The source can only come from two places. One, someone infiltrated The Fortress—and I’ve had my guards interrogating everyone, scullery maid to the cook. We’ve tracked down everyone who left last night, and we’ve checked the shifts to see if anyone did not show. If they didn’t, we sent guards to their houses. Yet, from their reports, no one saw or heard anything strange.”

“Maids and servants lie all the time,” Hux pushed out between clenched teeth.

“They don’t lie to me,” Kuruk, the steel in his voice undeniable.

“Or it could be one of your guards.”

“Armitage,” Paige said. “Not now. I get it…but not now.”

Hux stood, his neck flush with anger or worry or a sick combination of the two, Ben couldn’t tell. “When would be the best time, Paige?”

“Hux.” He glanced sharply at the red-haired man. Even if he didn’t immediately comply, torn between questioning Kuruk or, shit, trusting someone for once, he eventually sat down. “Kuruk, please, continue.”

“I believe this was not delivered but placed. And placed by someone other than the household staff.”

“Who has access to leave petitions?”

Kuruk frowned. “Practically everyone. From what I’ve gathered, in the past, there was a complex filtration and sorting process. Hundreds if not thousands of petitions come in a day, and only the truly important ones made it to The Fortress. From there, another pass, at this point overseen by High Steward. However, priority was shifted…due to the search efforts—” And at least Kuruk had the grace to only glance in Ben’s direction once. “A High Steward hasn’t been appointed; thus, this responsibility has been handled by…The Archive.”

“We can solve that now,” Ben said, sitting up straight in his chair. There was nothing comfortable about a stone seat, just as there was nothing comfortable about ruling from it. “Finn of Takodana.”

Finn’s head shot up. Ben turned towards Rey. They must have been thinking the same thing because the moment they locked eyes, her mouth curled up on one side and she nodded.

“Finn,” he repeated. “We are offering you the position as the High Steward of Core. Do you accept?”

Finn’s eyes widen to the size of saucers. “Excuse me?” He wheezed, head flitting back and forth, like there was another Finn in the room. “Me?” he said, his voice gone up a pitch. “Oh,” and he laughed. “You—no, you can’t be serious. I am not qualified for—my designat—I—"

Ben held his hand up and gratefully Finn’s rambling came to an immediate, if not awkwardly painful, stop. “Not qualified? Have you not been by the Alpha Prime’s side your entire childhood?”

“Why, yes, we’re best friends but that doesn’t—”

“And didn’t you serve, unnamed, as her closest advisor when she held the position of Alpha of Takodana?”

“I just gave her good advice, like don’t burn the village down!” he croaked, sounding seconds from a panic attack.

“Takodana is known for its intelligence, its council, its ability to think fast on its feet. Finn. You are _more_ than qualified.”

“Take the job, Finn,” Rey whispered.

Finn closed his mouth, stood tall and bowed deeply. “I—I accept.”

“Wonderful. Hopefully that will prevent ransom letters magically popping in from _wherever_ the fuck this came from,” Ben grumbled.

“So, we have no leads as to how to narrow this down?” Torben asked.

“Not quite,” Kuruk said, fingering the scroll. “As I mentioned, it was not delivered, but placed—hidden between last week’s and this week’s petition. The thing is…this paper? It is high quality, linen and cotton rag. Not limited to, but often used in official _Core_ practices. We’re looking for someone who has access _and_ who was also well off enough to purchase it.”

A thought struck Ben and to be honest it didn’t surprise him. He leaned forward and steepled his fingers under his chin. “And you say the High Eunuch has been the one dealing with the petitions? Has he been questioned?”

“Unfortunately, no. Our jurisdiction does not cover the Archives.”

Rey scoffed. “An old archaic rule that protected the Archives and those within it during the First Shifter War. As the documentaries of history, by keeping them alive, this kept our annals impartial, not allowing anyone to rewrite history. A very wise rule, advantageous if abused. And it has. And isn’t it our job to take what is broken and fix it?” Everyone in the High Council room nodded. “Restructure it until it once again serves all of Core?” More nods. “High Steward.”

Finn swung his head towards them with the same trepidation as a bunny who’d realized it had been caught in a hawk’s gaze.

“For the remainder of this week, the impartiality of the Archives is suspended and under review. If any of the eunuchs have a problem, tell them they can speak directly with me.”

“And,” Ben added, “please keep note that the Archives are now under our direct surveillance. Kuruk. Have one of your men keep an eye at him. Covertly, of course.”

Kyung nodded. “At once.”

“We do have a bigger issue,” Rey said, her fingers drumming against the table. “Their ransom is _absurd_. One diamond dragon is extremely rare in Core. They want _twenty_.”

“We could always bluff,” Ap’lek suggested, leaning up against a wall. “I mean, I don’t know much about these First Order people but I’ve heard they are obnoxious and self-important. They would never assume we would bluff with such high-profile hostages at stake. At the very least, it’ll get us a location.”

“Absolutely not,” Hux stormed. “You may not give a shit that it puts the hostages at risk if that dumb ass campaign fails, but I do. You just said it yourself, you don’t know much about First Order. None of us do. We don’t know what power they have, what alliances they’ve built, if they’ve got spies amongst us. No! We only have two choices. Pony up or forfeit their lives and I will _not_.”

Paige’s sigh was waterlogged and weary, but she did not move to reprimand Hux this time.

“I understand you, Arms, I do,” Poe tried. “I _understand_. No one is suggesting that. But…we are in a very impossible position. They are asking the impossible. And it could be because what we desire—to get them back—is not possible.”

“Poe. Shut the fuck up with the conciliatory bullshit until we’ve exhausted all options. Please, and thank you,” Paige suggested.

Poe huffed, threw up his hands, but remained quiet.

“We’re not going to write anyone off. Not on my watch,” Rey tried, sending Poe a sharp look. “I know we don’t have that kind of money, no one in Core does. The Southern tropic clans will not acknowledge us, and they’ve been at war with themselves for years, even though I’m sure they would at the very least, know how to get hands on that type of funds. The only other clan that would…” Rey trailed off. Then her head snapped up, locking on Hux. “The Eternal Empire.”

Rey stood, abruptly, like a spring being released. Ben only glanced at her because he trusted her thought process. Rey, at most times, was calm as still water. It was when she was agitated, by an idea, by people, by _Ben_ , she was unwieldy, unpredictable and damned brilliant. Rey was at her very best when challenged. Decorum would have Rey call for a guard. No. She ran out of the room and grabbed the first one she could find, tapping him on the shoulder like they were old friends from back home. “Do me a favor, yeah? Please hurry to Vaylin Tirall et Valkorion ‘s quarters and let her know her presence is requested.”

Hux looked at the back of the retreating guard, his anger, his sorrow, now replaced with a worry that seemed out of sorts. “Not one to question but do you think that is wise? To involve them? The Shadow Council’s alliance with the Eternal Empire is…tenuous.”

“With Vitiate, yes—he hates everything about Core. But not his daughter. It is no secret that Vaylin’s loyalties lie with Core. Your betrothal guaranteed that.”

Hux didn’t look eased by Rey’s words but he didn’t—or couldn’t— offer up any other objection.

They waited in silence. Hux took to pacing up and down the High Council room, worrying his thumb in his mouth until the guard returned with Vaylin.

She swept into the room with the same intimidating and imperious air that she did everything else. She approached both Ben and Rey, her black capes fluttering behind her like a shadow. She winked at Hux, before dropping to a knee at their sides. Glittering pale golden eyes blinked up at them and something about it and her smile didn’t match. Like she had a secret she would never share.

“My Lord Supreme, my Lady Prime, I came _as soon as I_ heard.” Her voice was a melodious amalgamation of court savvy and political panache, all which she weaved within her greeting. “I am more than honored to express my desire, as the heir to the mighty Eternal Empire, to be at your service.”

Ben scratched the inside of his ear. She was good. She could be better. Obvious in her flaunting. In this situation, that was a good thing, however.

Rey smiled tightly. “I thank you, Expectant Vaylin, in advance, believe me. And I apologize we could not meet under better skies, one’s worthy of your station.”

“Do not stress yourself, Lady Prime, with such a cursory matter. You’ll find that I abhor such things, forced arrangements, conversations, that sort of thing. It is better for it to be natural, _real_ , in any element,” Vaylin opined. Behind her Hux looked like he wanted to run his head into a wall.

“I appreciate the way you think, Expectant. I’ll cut to the chase, then. There is something we need from your clan.”

The Eternal Empire heir apparent smiled easily—far easier than Rey. “Whatever it is, I am more than happy to consider it.”

“Kuruk. Please let Vaylin see the letter.”

Kuruk nodded and began to slide the paper towards her, but before he could, Hux was on him, his hand more or less slamming down on the letter. Kuruk raised a brow, and if Hux were a better man, he’d explain or at least apologize. But Hux wasn’t. “No…let me.” He snatched the letter from under Kuruk’s hand before he could protest. “If anyone should tell her, then it should be me.”

Vaylin’s smile slipped a little. “Hux,” she asked, her shoulders squaring in preparation. “Tell me what?”

“It’s…it’s Kyp.”

The smile Vaylin had painted on her face vanished, water thrown across pigment and pretense. “W—why,” she stuttered, her face an indignant, ruined painting. “Why would you presume I would be concerned about your First? This was not a matter I needed to be summon—"

“He’s been captured, Vay,” Hux interrupted, softly.

Her head tilted. She blinked. The façade shattered. “Captured? Why would…” She paused and laughed. “Why would anyone want to capture Kyp?”

“He…”

“No. You told me he went hunting,” Vaylin stated, her brow pinched, her glare locked on Hux as if they were the only ones in the room. “You told me that he would be back soon. We talked about this. I remember because I had—there were letters and I was waiting for him to get back, I’ve been waiting for days, but…you said he’s been captured?” Vaylin cackled. “Hux. Come on! That doesn’t make any sense!” Her laughter pitched hysterical. “Tell me! How do you get kidnapped _hunting_? I know he’s stupid but he’s not _that_ stupid.”

Hux grimaced. Scratched the back of his head. Looked lost and stupid. “I… He was hunting, Vay. I just didn’t tell you what…or who he was after.”

“Ash-rabbit,” she offered up, randomly. “That’s all he hunts. Ash-rabbits. Why ash-rabbits? Because he doesn’t like to hunt and it’s the only damn thing he can capture. But you’re about to tell me something other than fucking ash-rabbits, aren’t you?”

Hux inhaled slowly, exhaled slowly, tried to delay the inevitable slowly. “He…he was a part of a reconnaissance team sent to scout out First Order lands. That team…was caught and…their captors are demanding twenty diamond dragons. That is why your presence was requested. To see if that was something available to you. I know your treasury has different levels of access and—”

Vaylin held up a hand, cutting him off. “They want twenty diamond dragons,” and she took a step closer to him, “or they’ll do what, Armitage?”

“Or they’ll execute the hostages.”

Vaylin was silent, all the grandeur in which she entered the room seemed to shrink little by little until she appeared nothing but a scared little girl, a woman faced with something she could not ingest. Then with a sharp growl, she lunged forward, knocking Hux back onto the ground. “You told me he was hunting! Hunting, Hux! Not walking into some goddamned death trap!” she screamed. “The First Order are animals! And you sent him there? To die?”

Punches rained down on Hux and other than raising his arms to cover his face, the Endor Alpha did nothing to dissuade her attack. Kuruk, Phasma, and Poe rushed to pull Vaylin from him, only managing to get in between them by locking Vaylin’s arms behind her back.

Vaylin wrestled out of their grip and threw them off her. She immediately whipped around to Ben and Rey. “I will pay it. I’ll pay it to the very last dragon.” This time when she dropped to her knees there was none of the discerning adroitness of a court trained lady, just sheer desperation. In that despair, she grabbed the hem of Rey’s robe, the silk wrinkling between her garnet and gold covered fingers. “You have to get him back. I let him down, I keep letting him down, but I can’t let him down again, not like this. Please. I don’t—I can’t…I _can’t_ lose him.”

Rey frowned, leaned forward, and helped the Eternal Empire’s Expectant heir to her feet. “Pull yourself together. You are an acting ambassador to your clan—now is not the time to wither under pressure. You just said it—Kyp is counting on you. Trust me, we _will_ get them back, all of them.” She squeezed the young woman’s shoulder before indicating she should take a seat, which she did, but slowly, as if this was the sort of inaction she didn’t agree with.

“Phasma, have the messengers prepare the First Order hawk for tomorrow’s first light. However, in the message you compose calling for our agreement to their terms, indicate they must produce a messenger to this Fortress to collect. With that messenger, we will travel to Zakuul to acquire the money,” Rey finished. She turned to Ben, brow raised, in question, searching for assurance.

Despite the uncomfortable feeling swirling at the bottom of his stomach at owing the Eternal Empire of all fucking places, that large amount of money, he had to nod. Rey’s idea was not only sound, but brilliant, changing the rules, molding them, putting Core back in a position of power.

“In the meantime,” Ben commanded, “prepare our riders—one to every clan and settlement in Core. Tell them we leave tomorrow at dawn. This meeting is adjourned.” Ben stood, and the others rushed to stand, saluting as he left the room, Rey trailing behind him.

He wasn’t trying to outpace her, per say, he just knew…

_Damn she was fast._ She skid to a stop in front of him. “I’m sorry,” she said, hands landing on her hips. “Just what did you mean ‘we’?”

He tried to take a step around her, but she mirrored him, like a demented shade. He had one tactic at his disposal. Flattery. “Your plan to procure the money was magnificent, Rey. I’ve been turning it over and over in my head, and I don’t think anyone could have come up with such a splendid tactic just like that.”

“Ben.”

“They really weren’t lying about Takodana! A village of thinkers, they say! And you, my dear, are a thinker.”

“Ben!”

“You know who is not a village of thinkers? First Order! It’s like they didn’t think at all!”

She glared at him flatly, severely unimpressed. “What?”

“The hawk, Rey! The hawk! They’ve hand wrapped us a clue! Someone has to follow that hawk.”

He knew it wouldn’t appease her, but he also thought she might see reason. And she did—it was just a different sort of reasoning. “And you think that you should be the one to do it? What if that leads you directly into First Order lands? Core has no jurisdiction there. You are not their Alpha.” Rey shook her head hard, lips pressed together in a thin line as if she’d come to some decision. “No. We will send someone else.”

Ben did not roll his eyes. He did not growl. His Alpha, however, did snarl, the snap of his teeth loud in his head. And Ben agreed. He stepped around her and continued towards their suite as if she’d never stopped him. “Don’t presume you can tell me what I can and cannot do.”

She cut him off again, stepping in front of him. Ben narrowed his eyes at her. “Are you defying me?” he rumbled, quietly.

“Defying you?” she snorted. “No. I wouldn’t dream of it, _Alpha_.” That soothed both him and his wolf. For the moment. “No, please! Follow the _fucking_ hawk. Just know I will burn this entire Fortress to the ground the moment you step off of it,” Rey snarled before storming off down the path.

Ben cleared his throat. “Well. I’m…uh, glad we had this talk—uh.”

He snapped his mouth shut and followed her.

Hours later, Ben could tell Rey was upset with him. But it wasn’t because he’d been unkind or demanding or treated Rey with some sort of ignorance. No. Rey was mad because she cared. And as much as Rey’s pacing up and down Ben’s room irritated him, knowing that Rey wanted him safe was heartwarming.

But still annoying.

“For the love of the Gods, _stop_ ,” he bit out.

Rey rounded on him, her aura visibly bristled. “Stop what?” she growled. “Trying to save your idiot life from this death mission? No. I won’t stop. But thanks for asking.”

Ben sighed. “This isn’t a death mission, Rey. I’m just trailing a stupid hawk.”

“Yes! Right into First Order lands! Where–they–will–kill–you! So, yes, this is a death mission!” Rey continued her pacing. “Siv and Tiffany are the best hunters, right? I know we can’t spare them but isn’t there an apprentice, an…an understudy—"

“This isn’t a play.”

Rey continued, undeterred by Ben’s quip. “—of some sort who can take on this foolish mission?”

Ben stood in the path of Rey’s pacing, causing her to stutter step and try to about face but Ben grabbed her by the arms. “Even if there was someone, I can’t let them go. It’s my _sister_ , Rey,” he said quietly, “I sent her out there. Me, her brother. I have to go.”

“I know,” Rey replied miserably, her defiant angry posture deflating.

Rey’s eyes fell shut and she covered Ben’s hand with her own. “It’s just…I wasted so much time being stupid and now you’re about to get yourself killed and die a horrible death and be dead for all of eternity and _perish_ –“

“Rey Kenobi.” Ben chuckled and grabbed both of Rey’s hands, pulling her to sit on the bed. “I’m _not_ going to die. I’m not.”

“Oh! Not only is he the leader of our clan collective, ladies and gentlemen, but he is also a soothsayer. Please! Tell the audience how you are so, so very wise.”

“Easy. I have a really good partner.”

“Ugh, gods,” she groaned. “This should be easier! We haven’t even broken in the place and we get this?”

Ben flicked Rey’s nose. “At least it’s not boring.”

Rey smacked him across the arm.

Ben grabbed the offended appendage, trying to fight the smile threatening to take over his face. “Look. This is going to work out. Everything is going to be okay. Me and you? We’ve got this. That’s why they chose us. Us, Rey, because we are the right people to be their leaders. Jaina is tough, all of them are tough or we wouldn’t have sent them out there in the first place. We’ll have them home and safe. And,” he said smoothly, “Once we have them home, we are going to relax and,” Ben leaned forward and kissed her, “prepare for our mating.”

Rey rolled her eyes, then relented, chasing his kiss. “Promise?”

“Pinky promise,” Ben stated against Rey’s mouth.

Rey pulled her head back and laughed at an obviously private joke. “Remind me to tell you about pinky promises when you get back.”

“Not if but when right?” Ben asked.

“Right. When.”

Ben brushed his lips across Rey’s and leaned in for more because he was becoming so addicted to them when someone knocked on his door.

“For the love of—who is it?” he snarled.

“Your new High Steward, my Lord. Open up, it’s urgent.”

Ben raised his head to the heavens before standing up and making his way to his door. He yanked it open to indeed find his new High Steward, possibly ready to give him a list of what things needed to be changed already. What he didn’t expect was the anxious look on the Omega’s face.

“Finn?”

Finn stepped in and started pacing. “See, it’s not a problem. It is good news, great news, even. It just doesn’t make any sense. I—just don’t understand it.”

“And that is?”

Finn slowed to a stop. “The hostages.”

Ben raised a brow. “Yes?” he said thinly.

“They are back.”

The moment Ben reached The Assembly Room, he scanned through the crowd in search of his sister’s hair. Yet, he failed to spot it.

Hux honed in on Rose like the center of an archery target. Once he reached her, he wrapped himself around her as if his life depended on it, shaking as fear drained out of him and relief took over.

Not far from them was Kyp and Vaylin. She had begun their reunion by yelling at him, yelling so hard she began to sob. From there she was all over him, expecting his swollen black eye that looked painful to the touch. Fingers glancing across a ring of bruises around his neck as if someone had tried to strangle him.

Snap was in a corner, huddled and shaking, with Kuruk and Ap’lek staring down at him. They weren’t offering any encouraging words, but their presence seemed to be enough.

But Ben could not find Jaina. She was not here and his and it was worrying him half blind. As he continued to frantically search, he spotted Jacen. His brother was standing in the center of the Assembly Room, his face stormy as he gazed out of the giant stained-glass window, lost to whatever he was thinking. He ran over him, grabbed his shoulder, knocking him out of his trance.

“Where…where’s Jaina,” Ben asked.

Startled, Jacen looked at him, a mix of confusion and melancholy on his face. “Ben?”

He shook him once and the look in Jacen’s eyes cleared up. “Where is she, Jacen? Where is your sister?”

Jacen dropped his head and rubbed his mouth harshly with his trembling hand. “She’s—she’s—"

“Alive.”

Ben turned slowly, cautiously. He hadn’t heard that voice for decades, not since his mother sent him away. He’d written, he’d tried visiting, everything. Then the news of his death came to Alderaan and Ben was left with no choice but to mourn someone he would never see again.

“She’s resting in the back. She’s been through… a lot.”

_It’s impossible._

The man weaved through the crowd, all who had drawn quiet as their leader and this stranger faced each other. When he was close, he clapped Ben on the shoulder as if only a breezy weekend had passed since they’d last seen each other. The hand squeezed his shoulder, a familiar gesture, when the younger comforted the older, and Ben didn’t know whether to flinch or get angry or start demanding answers. “Hello, Benjie.”

Jacen walked to his side, looking just as lost and confused as Ben felt. “He’s the one who bartered for their lives. He’s the reason they are home.”

Ben continued to stare at the man before him in disbelief.

“Why? Why would you do that,” Vaylin asked from somewhere behind them.

“Because…” Ben said, his voice the only sound in the Assembly Hall. “He’s Jaina’s brother.”

There was a lot about Ben that Rey didn’t know about. Small things. His favorite color for one. Black. She wanted to say black because despite all the cool, crisp colors known to Alderaan, Ben loved to drape himself in shades of dark, black and grey, and colors so deep they appeared to be either one.

_Light_ , the name of Ben’s sword, was the first thing Rey noticed when she’d entered his room. It was anchored above his bed in a set of golden brackets. The sheath was ornate, a rich cherry wood wrapped in a golden lattice of filigree, beautiful swooping lines of intertwined wire threads that looked almost violent. For the sword, the hilt was pure gold, save its leather wrapped grip, with a blade that shone red. The guard was a lion’s head with an inlay of ruby stones for the eyes and centered in the pommel was a gleaming pearlescent crimson centerpiece with golden rays like the sun was spanning from it.

Rey didn’t know the history behind such a delicate, artful, but powerfully angry looking sword. It wasn’t new so she wondered if it had been handed down to him.

Yet, this was something she should know.

She knew superficial things about his past because it was one of the first things newly ascended Alphas did; learn the background of their peers. It hadn’t been in an effort to gain information on new friends. It was always a defensive tactic. Keep your friends close, potential enemies even closer. The War had taught them that.

Even with all the information she’d learned being near him and the information Kylo had imparted, she still didn’t know the things she needed to know.

Such as Ben having another brother.

The man that stood before them was Dal Konur, apparent the new Alpha of Alderaan. Rey remembered a missive on her desk announcing something in that area but minutes later she had Ben’s cock down her throat so she was a little behind on current events.

She would definitely make time after this to be on top of what had happened in Core while she had been both away and neglectfully busy because news like this shouldn’t be a shock to a leader of the entire clan collective.

To the right of Dal Konur was a man with shoulder length deep auburn hair, long bangs framing a soft baby face, the rest pulled up in a painfully tight looking topknot. When he smiled, he smiled with his entire face, all of his teeth showcased like white river washed stoned. In other situations, that would be a sign of an open personality, amiable and good natured, but on him—well, Rey didn’t like how it sat on Rian Vitt’s face. Despite her unease, Rian Vitt, Alderaan born and raised, was now Dal Konur’s First and one of the most important voices in their clan. A voice that carried power.

He was talking to her, something about the differences in vinification styles of Alderaan wine and their healing properties, and it was such an odd thing for him to be so verbose about, especially at this time like this. She could offer him some grace, his chatter a nervous tick in light of the situation. But there were far greater things of concern.

Like Ben. Having a brother. Like Ben’s brother saving his sister when she didn’t know he existed in the first place.

While keeping up the appearance of listening to Rian Vitt’s ceaseless prattle, Rey chanced a look at Dal Konur.

He was a handsome man, classically, unlike Ben’s, who’s face held personality, emotion, appeal. Of course, he would have his own face, sharing none of the characteristics of any of the Solo siblings—clan ties, not blood. Different mother, different father but still considered a brother. Guess they shared a history of kinship, or had gone so long thinking they were family that as time passed them by, it became more habit than fact, found family with strangers. Yet the noticeable difference between the two wasn’t looks.

Ben’s aura exuded authority, filled every corner with it, pressed against the walls like an overfilled water skin. His presence was something to be feared, caused people to quiver and quake under the sheer weight of it. Yet, although some didn’t like him, and although some may not love him, everyone respected Ben Solo, unquestionably. Ben’s reputation as Alpha of Alderaan had preceded his journey to leader of Core. There was never a doubt as to who or how. People found strength under his banner.

Dal Konur, on the other hand, seemed…green. As if he wore high authority like an ill-fitting suit of armor. His aura screamed off beat, a roar in the wrong direction. His steps were planned, precautious, overly gregarious but it was overcompensation. He acted like he _knew_ he did not belong. Rey knew that feeling. It was terrible, so maybe that’s why she could pick up on the tells, the evidence of outside looking in. Of being an “other”.

Eventually, someone from the Healer’s Alcove came to collect them. The room split up just so—Hux began huddling with some of the Endor men he’d called who’d been visiting Mandalore, but kept his eye on Rose as she gathered with the rest of her team until she was out of sight. Vaylin whisked off to prepare a room for Kyp and stood guard herself, growling at anyone who came near her. For the rest of them, they were ushered the private wing blocked off for the Supreme Leader and Alpha prime. It was lovely, a large window parked right beside a sprawling herb garden that let plenty of light in. The room itself was massive, nothing less for the leaders of Core, however it still felt much too small for all the people squeezed into it.

When Rey first entered, she’d expected Jaina to be in bed, pale beige sheets pulled up to her chest, incense and steamed water in the air.

Instead, what greeted Rey was Jaina Solo, standing in a corner, bruised and scratched up, staring off into some distance over her shoulder. If it wasn’t for the gentle rise and fall of her chest, Rey would think she were a flesh colored statue.

The scene shocked more than just her. Ben stutter-stepped when he entered the room, head snapping to his sister’s eerie stance. It was a lot. Instinct had him going to her, large strides taken in panic, the fall of heavy boots, the echo of a whimper, but a healer stepped in his path.

“Please, Supreme Alpha. I do apologize, but she is not to be disturbed.”

Rey had a feeling Jaina Solo was already disturbed.

Ben looked down at the healer like he was going to snap him in half. “That is my sister,” he growled.

“It is for the best,” they tried, but the healer’s warning came far too late. As if she could feel proximity just by a shift in the air, Jaina’s head rose and her dazed bloodshot eyes focused, for just a moment, on Ben. Then all hell broke loose.

“Beware the egg, beware the egg, BEWARE THE EGG!” She tore at her hair, shifted forward, hissed and cawed. “ _Hadzuska koshûjontû_!,” she screamed. “ _Kintik_ —rhak-skuri! Give birth to darkness!”

Jacen released a shaky half sigh, half sob before, and with a flick of his fingers, his sister returned to a state of calm, this time walking to the window in her room and gazing out of it serenely. “She’s…” He pinched the bridge of her nose. “Don’t, just don’t. Talk to her or touch her. I don’t—” He plopped down into a seat, morose and unflinching, like the energy was seeping out of him through his feet and onto the floor.

“What is she saying?”

“Shadow born. Darkest. Dream singer,” Jacen muttered, his face falling into his hands. “Gibberish.”

“What happened?” Rey asked softly once the shuffle and rearrangement of anxiety settled within everyone.

Rose hovered to the closest to the twins, far enough not to incite Jaina, but close enough to Jacen to be of some support. Her tanned face held a grey ashen tint to it, like pain and fatigue and fear lived within her. A large white triangular bandage had been fashioned into a sling and cravat, while three bruise fingers peeked out like withered, misshapen branches. Rey was all too familiar with what broken fingers looked like and felt like and she couldn’t decide if the pain of it, or the compressed healing to mend the bones later, was more excruciating.

Still, even with the amount of pain she had to be in, Rose dropped to a knee, her head bowed. “Forgive me,” she murmured, brokenly, her voice barely above a whisper. “As mission leader, I take full responsibility.”

Rey glanced at Poe, who was frowning. “Rose,” Poe said, sternly. “Get up. No one is blaming you for this.”

“Poe—”

“Get up,” he growled. “You will not grovel over being kidnapped for fuck’s sake. Get up.”

“Rose,” Rey said, a touch more patiently than Poe, although she understood why seeing Rose like this upset him. “You are a victim of this and you will not take blame. Rise, take a seat and just tell us what happened. It’s okay.”

Rose looked up, wary, but was able to get to her feet with the help of Jacen’s steady hand. She inhaled deeply, her lip caught between her teeth before she visibly collected herself “The plan was to observe from afar, so that any approach we took didn’t encroach on their space too heavily. I figured we could always say we’d lost our way as rouge hunters and were foraging for Convor eggs, especially since we took an ariel approach with the forest canopy. We’d spent a few hours camped in the branches above their compound observing. There was nothing, which was odd.”

“How so?” Poe inquired.

“Paige mapped out Takodana for us, every bit of it. Any negative space not drawn should have been First Order space but…it was nearly empty. Just trees for miles. I was hours away from releasing the retreat call when Snap and I received a distress beacon from Jaina and Kyp. We raced to them as fast as possible but…it was a trap. They’d already taken Jaina and Kyp hostage and used their distress beacon to draw us in.”

“It was a good plan, Rose,” Rey said. “Nymeve forest is dense along the canopy. They couldn’t have known you were there by observation alone.” She turned to Kyp. “Did you observe anything before their arrival?”

“No. We were tied up and blindfolded,” Kyp answeredf. “And transported somewhere by wagon. I apologize but I couldn’t tell you in what direction we were headed. They took numerous turns. It didn’t take long, however, from the point of capture to the location we were transferred to.”

“Can you remember anything about the new location?” Poe tried.

Kyp shook his head. “The trees looked like trees. No specific region markers, no change in foliage to indicate if we’d gone farther north or south. Not a change in scent, from the trees, and I could not pick up the scent of a shifter other than those with us, so I know they used an _olfa_. Once we got there, our blindfolds were removed, and we were placed in a mass holding cell, joining five other shifters.”

“Who—”

Kyp shook his head again. “They had shrouds over their heads, and they’d been stripped of any identifying sigil or uniform. For a day or so—I only remember seeing the sun fall and rise once—they did nothing. Their camp was far away enough that it was lost in the density of the forest but that didn’t last long.”

“Did they say what they wanted?” Ben said, or rather, growled. “Did they say why they did this?”

“No,” Rose murmured. “After a while, they did eventually come and question us, one by one, yanking us from the holding cell and separating us from the others. But the questions…they didn’t make sense. They would take us out, rough us up, ask us questions about Core, questions they knew we wouldn’t answer. Blood types and familial lineage of other clan members. When that wasn’t enough they…” Rose paused and took a seat at the edge of Jania’s unused bed, the exhaustion evident on her face.

“You don’t have to do this right now,” Rey stated. “Rest. We can do this when you are better rested.”

“No, it’s okay. You need to know this.” She took a deep breath. “At some point, when they realized _we_ realized they were just toying with us, it began…”

Ben’s brow dipped. “What? What began?” Ben asked, urging Rose on with an expectant glare.

“The screams. Jaina’s screams.”

Ben curled his hands into a fist, his nails digging into his palm. Rey wanted to uncurl his fingers, slide hers in between, if only to keep him from hurting himself.

“They never touched her. Out of the four of us, she was barely questioned. She’d watch us being dragged away, only to return looking far worse than we left. Over and over again. Then, they came for her. Grabbed her and the other hostages, the ones with shrouds over their heads. Instead of whisking them away to the empty stretch of woods where they interrogated us, they kept them near. I could reach out and my fingers would just barely miss her.” Kyp wrung his hands. “When that person—can’t describe them, they were covered, head to toe in some kind of cloak—showed up, you could feel the darkness. A sickening, consuming feeling that made some of the other captives heave. We’d learned earlier a powerful mage aiding the First Order, more powerful than Jacen and Jaina, if you can believe it.”

Rey found that hard to believe. No one in Core was more powerful than the _maegis_.

“He—said some kind of spell. I’m no mage, I don’t know what it was but when he said it, it reverberated all around. _Blenay—vedi—itsu,_ he’d said. And when he would say it, Jainia began to scream.”

Ben inhaled sharply beside her, and inside her chest, the faint echo of Ben’s heart began racing. “You know what this means,” she said, glancing at him. This time she did come closer to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“It's…its ancient Dothamir,” Ben breathed. “When Maul ruled the Dark Red Caves and introduced Sith to mage magic.”

“Shadow born. Darkest. Dream singer. Jaina is talking about Dark Sith magic. It was a warning. _Blenay,_ I _._ _Itsu, chain._ Means “I who control,” Jacen whispered, haunted. “They used corrupt Dathomir magery against her. Tainted. Our mother’s magic, tainted.”

Ben, who could look scary by simply breathing, stood taller, his eyes flicking to the other former hostages, his rage leaking into his aura, his scent. His eyes flashed gold, then red and Rey had to dig her own nails into the skin of her thigh not to let it overtake her. “What did they make her do?”

“They made her—” Rose paused and wiped the sweat from her forehead. “They made her...execute the other hostages.”

Ben’s fist was through an armoire with a growl, fast, too fast for Rey to stop him. A healer yelped and scrambled back, and a guard barged in the room. Rey dismissed the woman with a reassuring nod, waiting for them to leave before she reached for Ben.

“Don’t touch me. Please. My control…”

Though she didn’t touch him, she didn’t move away, hovering near him, ready to fold him into her arms the moment he allowed it. He was breathing harshly, panted shuddered breath that sounded strained, painful.

This was another thing she did not know about Ben. She did not know how to soothe him, how to bring him back from the brink, how tether him to serenity. But maker, she was going to try.

As she drew near, his nose twitched, and he glanced sidelong at her, carmine slitted eyed that tracked her movements. So she slowed, stopped. his eyes flicked down, from her eyes, to her neck, then her wrist, then back up to her. Something planative, imploring was written there, a want, a request. Narrowing her eyes, she tentatively raised her wrist towards him, an offering she didn’t know the theory of.

He didn’t touch her, didn’t paw at her, didn’t reach for her. Shaking, he lowered his nose to the soft skin of her wrist, to her scent gland, and inhaled. Deep. Again, and again. She felt his heart slow, felt the anger, _his_ anger, settle deep in her gut, dissipate. The red, receded. His control reestablished itself.

When Rey looked over her shoulder, everyone in the room was making it a point to look anywhere else but at them. Fair. “Does that conclude your report?” She wanted to get Ben somewhere, away from his sister for a moment, fresh air. She wanted to get Rose and Kyp to their rooms. She wanted to get Jacen a fucking drink. They just needed grounding, stasis.

“No,” Rose said, nervously. “I recognized the hostages, Rey.”

“You did?” Rey tilted her head. “Who were—"

The door to the healing room flew open, banging against the wall. It was Kuruk, a fearful apprehension buzzing from his usual unflappable nature. “Please excuse my interruption. I know right now isn’t the best time, but it would be highly negligent of me to not inform you immediately. “

“What is it?” Ben asked, his fingers rubbing away at his temple.

“There has been an incident on Processional Way,” he said, sounding harried. “Just before the Four Masters. Something has appeared…

“Appeared?” Jacen asked with a weary frown. “Mage magic doesn’t work like that. Things don’t just _appear_.”

“Well it did.”

“Explain appeared.”

“It wasn’t there, then it was.”

“I trust your judgement, Kuruk, I sincerely do. We all do—”

“Then how come every time I present information, it is questioned?” Kuruk shot back, his voice going high.

While they worked that out, Rey turned to Ben, a hand between his shoulder blades, her mouth near his ear where no one could overhear them. “I can handle this. If you want to stay.”

“No,” he said, rubbing his face, digging his fingers into his now, gratefully, dark eyes. “No,” he repeated, sounding more like himself. “We should handle it now. While she is,” he looked at his sister, then away. “While she won’t miss us.”

Rey took a step back, allowing him the room to gather himself, shed the skin of a frightened brother and resume the armor of a leader. He faced the room, his composure, even if shallow, broadcasted its strength. “Let me know the moment she wakes up,” he said to a healer. “And get those two into their own rooms. They are useless to me all banged up.” He gave Rose a small smile, which she returned. To Kyp, a firm pat to his arm before he, Rey, Poe, and Jacen were following Kuruk out of the Healer’s Alcove.

At the end of the hall, Rey finally saw what Hux had been up to when they’d carted Rose off. He stationed his men at the end of the hall like a phalanx, like whatever had harmed Rose had followed her here and only he could stop it. This was an issue—Hux couldn’t have his own private army within the Imperial Fortress, but that was a discussion for another day when he wasn’t on the verge of snapping. When they approached, his men moved silently down the hall towards Jaina’s room and dutifully followed Rose as a healer led her to her own room.

She heard Rose sigh balefully, a “It’s just some broken fingers, Armitage!” shout at his back, which was promptly ignored as he followed his Alpha leaders towards Processional Way.

When they reached the courtyard, Phasma was waiting for them, along with Siv and Torben. When they saw them approach, they moved to the side, allowing Kuruk to bring them directly to a line of chest resting on the top step, just below the stone robes of the Four Masters.

“Five,” Phasma said. “No sigils, no markings, nothing. Just five smooth iron chests.”

“Fifty odd guards can testify to their sudden appearance. I was fortifying the coverage and updating patrols when it happened..”

“And they just….” Siv fingers fanned out like an explosion. Kuruk nodded and Siv shrugged with her mouth, an indication that she was really impressed or really freaked out.

“They are frozen to the touch,” Phasma said, eyeing the chest as if they were tiny sithspawn yet to awaken. When Rey reached out, Phasma stopped her. “It will hurt.”

“Mage ice,” Jacen murmured, his brow wrinkled in thought. “You won’t be able to touch them until the seal is broken.”

“There was also this letter,” Torben said, pulling it out of an armguard. “Addressed to the Alpha Prime and Finn of Takodana.”

Ben threw his hands in the air. “I’ll give the fucking stars my first born to be rid of these infuriating letters!”

Rey shot him a glare before accepting the letter. It was a simple affair, none of the fancy materials used with the ransom letter from before. Carefully, she unfolded it and found it was completely blank. “Jace,” she said, holding it up to him.

Jacen grunted. “They sealed everything. Paranoid little bastards. Just…fold it back up. If I can break the seal, the letter should reveal itself as well. Or at least, I hope. I don’t really want to spend the afternoon trying to decipher their damn mage riddles.”

As Jacen got to work, Finn appeared, hip checking Poe before coming to stand at her side. “I’ve been summoned,” he droned. “A diplomatic mess,” he spat, “on my first day. I’ve been sending correspondence to the new Alphas of each clan, letting them know we didn’t purposely send some of their clan members off to die. Even though we may have.”

Rey rolled her eyes. “They are our Bone Pact. We don’t have to answer to their clans to that degree.”

“No, of course not. No. But I’d rather pacify them now than later. Especially since it doesn’t look like the gods are going to take it easy on us.” He glanced down at the letter. “What’s your take on,” he waved towards the chest, the letter, “all of this.”

Rey worried a thumb between her teeth. “I’m not sure but this doesn’t feel right, Finn. The First Order is moving in ways that just don’t make sense! I have a feeling this is a branch clan of the First Order—they didn’t abduct them to the FO compound. They took them to the middle of nowhere. And now mages?”

“They detest mages,” Finn murmured.

“Mages are considered unclean to them. And not only a mage, one strong enough to use some ancient magic that put the fear into two very powerful ones?” She shook her head, something sickly swirling at the bottom of her stomach. “This doesn’t feel right.”

“I don’t know much about mage magic, but I heard when they use it against another, it’s a declaration of war.”

“Yes,” Rey groaned. Not that it took much to declare war on someone. She’d seen wars declared in bars over spilled drinks. She’d seen wars declared between a man, his wife, and her lover. She’d seen war declared over soup. But this declaration was different. Because it was a mage declaration, and she did not know the rules of war for that. Hell, it was the _Maegis_ who’d been threatened. They would have to answer that, no matter what.

“This day has been so much fun,” Finn deadpanned.

“Can you send a message to your mother asking if there has been any suspicious activity in Takodana? If so, we can have Tionne do some investigative work. If there has been any movement, she will let us know.”

Finn nodded.

“It’s done! Jacen declared, taking a step back from the chest. His forehead was covered in a sheen of sweat, his shirt stained with it, and Rey remembered that the _Mageis_ worked better together. She couldn’t imagine the physical—and emotional—toll not having his sister by his side was having on him. “Try the letter before we try the box,” he said, breathless. “If it’s a trap, the letter will be less harmful. Finn, take a step back.”

Finn jumped away with a snort. “My pleasure.”

Rey opened the letter again, and like last time, it was still blank. Then, slowly, and surely, line after line, words began to fill the page. The first line was strange. Just names.

**Tionne. Brakiss. Streen. Julien. Maz.**

Rey frowned.

_These five have been named enemies of The First Order and charged with the crime of High Treason. Their heads are an offering from us to you, Alpha Prime of Core, Finn of Takodana, so that you may reconsider your own crimes and repent._

_**Ogg, son of Ogg.** _

The fear that swelled in her chest was so powerful that she was unable to take her next breath. Her eyes flicked over the words, over the names, over and over again, before the missive in her hand dropped to her side. Shuddering, she looked up as a noise, like nails scratching over metal caught her ear. On the front of the chest, pure iron and solid, names began to appear, as if an invisible hand was etching them into the metal. Then she counted the chests. Five. Five names. Five chest.

On one chest, a T and an I formed.

On another S T R.

The letter J on another.

M A.

K I S

—More and more letters as words—no names—began to finalize.

“That noise is maddening,” Finn said, wincing, his gaze lowering to the letter gripped between Rey’s fingers. “Peanut,” he frowned. “You’re pale as death. What’s wrong?”

Rey shook as fear and dread twisted in the pits of her stomach. Maz Maz. Maz. The last name on that list was Maz. No. No! She could not let him find out this way.

Finn reached for the letter, concerned, and Rey reacted violently, snatching it away from him with a snarl. “Poe!” she screamed. She searched the courtyard until she found him, head dipped towards Phasma and Torben as they discussed something. His head popped up at her summons. “Poe! Get the Finn out of here!”

Finn looked up at his best friend, eyes dancing nervously, mouth pinched. “Wh—what the hell, Rey?”

“Poe!” she screamed again, frantic. She could shove him away. She could deck him, knock him out. She could—she could—she could—

“Why are you screaming for Poe? I’m not going anywhere! What does it say, Rey?” he yelled.

Rey remembered. She remembered the night her sister and father died. She remembered Finn’s face, his tears as he tried to break the worst news Rey had ever heard in her life. He had been Rey’s rock that night, even if she didn’t remember most of it.

But even with all the blank spaces, the patches of fuzzy memories alluding her, she remembered that Finn was always, _always_ there for her.

There was no way in hell she was about to let Finn see his mother’s head stuffed in a chest like she was some sort of outlaw.

Poe, brows furrowed, face twisted in panic, finally reached their side, reached Finn’s side, and immediately cuffed a hand around his and began to pull him away.

Rey should have known it would not be easy. Not with Finn. Stubborn, stubborn, ass!

Before Poe got two steps away, Finn yanked, hard, and spun away, lunging for the letter.

Rey pulled away but it was too late. Her hands were empty and his were not. “Finn, no!”

A beat passed, two, three terrible spaces of silence. “Why…why is my mother’s name on this?” he whispered, horrified.

It was as if the spell needed both Rey and Finn’s acknowledgement of the letter before activating. There was a cacophony of _thunks_ and Rey watched in muted terror as the locks holding the chest closed fell off and the lids creaked open. Poe moved fast, finally connecting the dots, the names, the letter, and pulled Finn to his feet, into him, turning him away.

Rey couldn’t look away. She just couldn’t.

In the first box, just as the letter read, was the head of Tionne Solusar nestled in a pile of chipped ice, her eyes an inky black and her mouth stretched open to reveal a black tongue—the sign of a mage sourced execution. She’d only seen this once, as a child, the humble beginnings of a mage ban.

The next chest held Brakiss’ head, his eyes and tongue the same, black. Then Streen, his black eyes staring back at Rey. Memories hit her, ones of her summers with these three wonders in her life, these three surrogate guardian figures who stepped in and taught her the things her father and sister couldn’t.

_Why would someone do this? Gods, please. Someone answer me!_

Distantly, she heard a muffled sob, then a grunt. “Finn, no. No. Please don’t look...” Poe tried.

Rey could do this. She could do this for Finn. Identify, then hide away. He did not need to—

Oh, stars. Oh _maker_.

She exhaled, harsh, painful. Inhaled like a drowning woman.

_Stars. Stars. Stars_. She did not recognize the next two heads. They were strangers.

“Finn,” she breathed, stumbling back from the line of chests. “Finn, she’s not here…she’s…she’s not here.”

In her horror, in her shock, Rey hadn’t realized Ben was standing behind her, his hand low on her back, comforting amidst the confusion. She felt the pressure, the soothing touch, the firm pillar keeping her upright. The tingle across her shoulders, his eyes on her.

Her heart was beating out of her chest, she knew he could feel it, but Rey could barely feel anything right now. She was trembling, but it was an acknowledgment of movement, muscles vibrating, seeing as her hand move out of the corner of her eye—not a recognition of physical awareness. Her stomach. She could feel her stomach lurching. A gnawing, bilious sick she could taste on her tongue.

Faintly, she felt Ben turn from her, a step or two, no more, but it was enough. His voice echoed crisp, firm commands—“Take these chest and melt them down. Take the remains to the moratorium. Tell Fallau I want a full workup. Lock down the gates. Kuruk, triple the security to the inner courtyard, double it at the gates. And someone contact the ambassador for Dathomir.”

It was just—it was too much. But she had to try, to look in control. Something. Something other than surprise, nausea, relief, fear, fear, _fear_.

She made it forty-seven steps—she had to count. It kept her walking, controlled, smooth—before she took off running, ripping through the Inner Courtyard of the Imperial Fortress, not caring who she collided into, what she knocked over, who she offended.

She ran.

And ran.

And ran.

She ran until she was somewhere familiar, somewhere safe, collapsed at the foot of her bed. She could be safe here where she could pretend where she could act like her lies didn’t matter where she could erase the images of Finn’s fear from her mind where she could erase cold back eyes staring at her where she could erase black tongues and heads with no bodies and Tionne and Brakiss and Streen and no Julien and no Maz and where she could pretend that her world wasn’t collapsing around her where she was safe safe safe safe safe—

“Rey.”

She jumped, flinched, like some wounded animal. Her eyes were slammed shut, she couldn’t tell what direction Ben was coming in so she sniffed, and gods, he smelled _so_ good. Ben would keep her safe, wouldn’t he? Safe? Safe? Safe—would she ever be safe again?? She was still shaking, except she could feel it this time, because she was simply _vibrating_. Out of her skin, like she could claw it off, claw her scent glands out of her, rake away her biology, and be safe.

Ben.

“Breathe, Rey. Breathe—with me. Do you feel me, how I’m breathing? Match it. That’s right. That’s right. Just like that. In and out, slowly. That’s my good girl. Again. And again. Keep up— no, no, sweetheart, too fast. You’ll go faint. Slow down. With me. There we go. There we go.”

Rey was not shaking anymore, but misery, all she felt was misery. Her mouth, she couldn’t get her mouth to work. Her tongue felt slick.

“Rey,” he pleaded. “Darling. Sweetheart. Please. Come back to me.”

Rey tried again, getting the words past the lump in her throat. “Tionne and Brakiss and…and Streen. They were killed, Ben. Killed. And then Maz…Julien they—they…”

Ben squeezed her once, a root, it felt like a root wrapping around her, strong, earthy, safe. His mouth against her hair, kissing, mouthing words that didn’t make sense but felt so, so good. It wasn’t enough. “They were from your village. I remember Tionne. She was the first to greet me when I visited you for the first time. ”

“They took care of me. They _helped_ me. Why…why did this happen to them? Why do I keep losing people?” Rey sobbed. She couldn’t stop.

“I don’t know, Rey. But I’ll find out. We will find out together. You will get your revenge,” he declared, fiercely.

“They aren’t enemies of Core,” she bit out. She had to make him understand. Not Tionne, not Brakiss, never Streen. They could never, ever… “I don’t care what that letter said!”

Ben rocked her. Back and forth. Back. Forth. Back. “I know.”

“They were good to me. They were so good to me, Ben,” she whimpered, high in her throat.

“I know, Rey. I know,” Ben said soothingly.

“They can’t do this. I’ll kill every last one of them. I promise on my father’s grave I will kill them when I find them. They can’t continue to terrorize the people I care about because of what I—" Rey clamped her mouth shut. Stopped herself from talking. From even breathing.

Ben’s slight sway paused, and he craned his head around to look at Rey. “Rey. Do you know why they did this? This can’t just be about money.” He tilted her chin towards him. “Do you know the reason, Rey?”

_Of course, I do!_

She blinked. Felt her jaw clenching before she forced herself to relax the tension. “No, Ben. I don’t.”

There was a beat of silence that stretched to the corners of the room, ugly, unbearable, untenable, before Ben asked quietly, “Rey. Are you lying to me?”

_I’ve been lying to you since I met you_.

“No, Ben. I am not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rey's about to make some REALLY bad decisions.  
> :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)  
> Because, Rey.


	16. break

_“We’ll be there by noon. Are you okay?”_

_Finn nodded from atop of his horse. “No, but I’m too angry to not do_ something _.”_

_“Does Poe know?”_

_Finn snorted. “About this?” He slanted his eyes towards Rey. “Does Ben?”_

_“Absolutely not,” she said, aghast._

_“Well, there you go. Your answer.”_

**Core Clan Village: Takodana**

**Twelve Hours Later**

The blade was unfamiliar to her: an ashier grey than the steel of the Imperial guard, sturdier than some of the best weapons shipped in from Endor, and sharper than a blade fresh from a whetstone. But even at this range, a dull blade was still a blade capable of killing.

Rey thought, as if this was the perfect time for musing, of all the things that had brought her to this point, bruised and bloodied, a sword pointed at her, inches from her throat. Every time she swallowed, she could feel the proximity of it to her, how close it was to slicing through skin and cartilage, and how close she was to death.

She tilted her head, glaring down the length of the sword to the man who held it. Looked at him because she didn’t dare turn her head.

It was the silly things about him she noticed first—how he was shaped like an upside-down pyramid, his shoulders, wide, hips narrow, like if she blew hard enough, he would topple over. His stance accommodated for that, so …more like a flesh and bones cross that had been pushed over by an angry mule.

It was an odd, odd feeling. Wanting to laugh at that.

Next she noticed his hair. It was disgusting, a greasy mop of black hair that had once been neat, maybe, but now was falling out of a messy bun, limp stands hanging in his face. He hadn’t bathed in at least a week but he didn’t look like the sort to not take care of himself, as though his current state was cause related. Maybe he spent a week in the woods, planning this all out. Maybe they’d traveled non-stop from another part of Core they’d been harassing. Maybe this was a part of a larger campaign, one Rey had no scope of. He flicked his eyes up at her, small black things, like little beans, that although reflected as much light as a cabochon would, still held a look of victory. Like he was watching the fight leave his prey.

A mission won.

“Any last words?”

Rey set her shoulders and looked beyond him.

The man smiled. “Good girl.”

The candle clock hovering above Ben’s study was exactly half spent.

Midnight.

When Rey was a child, she’d been caught once sneaking out of bed, eavesdropping. As an adult, she knew what the conversation had been about—her—why they were whispering—her unnaturalness—and why they did what they had—to protect her. However, after being caught, she worked very hard at learning how to be surreptitious.

How to clench her core so she could bend up and out of bed without disturbing her surroundings.

How much weight to apply to the balls of her feet.

How to listen to the distribution of her body head to feet as she stepped down, how load and pressure affected floorboards, when they would give and bend and make noise.

Noiseless. She practiced being noiseless. Unnoticeable. She had various reasons for not wanting to be seen.

And right now, she was _invisible._ With her practiced ability, she slipped out of bed, out of Ben’s room and into hers, without alerting the guard at the end of the hall. She moved so smoothly that she hadn’t even disturbed the floating, flaming crystal that represented her union to the man she’d left sleeping. Quietly, _quietly_ , Rey slipped robes and shawls and a hooded cloak out of her chest, traveling boots, her dagger, her staff—everything she would need, and donned them. Secured the olfa around her neck, slipped it between her breasts.

It wasn’t until her foot was on the windowsill that led out into the Dyad Pavillion did she stop. She couldn’t leave like this. Moments later, she was back in Ben’s suite, hovering over him, watching him, his face slack with sleep, beautiful and arresting. Every misunderstanding they had, every lie she had told, had brought her to him.

Every misunderstanding, every lie, brought her to this moment.

She could salvage this. Maybe. But she would have to lie to him one last time, escape into the night, battle the demons that breathed down her neck. No, both their necks, because Ben was stubborn and stood her back, his attempt to protect her from her own consequences.

Maker. _Gods_ , this man. How did she—

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. She chanced it, bending so her lips pressed against his forehead, then the bridge of his nose, the corner of his lips. “I’m so sorry.”

If slipping out of the Dyad Pavilion was hard, and if stealing through the Imperial Fortress without garnering too much attention was challenging, then getting to the moratorium was a cake walk. It was, by far, the weakest point of entry into the Fortress, however, the stench of decay, the sharp tang of embalming arsenic and decomposed wood chips and cinnabar, kept people far, far away.

And it was very ugly, marred by the very thought of death, leaving the architects and custodians to decide it was unworth decoration, dingy, moss covered stone, unkempt grass, wood that needed replacing ages ago. It held a simple design—a low arch and a set of doors that led one, to a crematorium, and the other, out towards the graveyard where the canister of ashes were buried.

Here, recognition was less important. She was the Alpha Prime of Core, Finn the High Steward. The two guards bookending the door leading out simply bowed their head in faint recognition before staring off into the distance. In any other situation, this would garner her annoyance, then her alarm. Meetings with Kuruk and Ap’lek would be scheduled. She would have Finn speak with the moratorium head, devise a better plan to keep this shatterpoint secured.

But today, she was glad.

The ride to Takodana was quiet, moments of reflection tempered with the anger of threat and the weight of duty kept the two friends from chatting much. Plus, there wasn’t much to talk about. They did not know what they were heading into, yet they did not care. This had to be done. It would be done.

What had happened on Processional Way was nothing short of emotional terrorism. It robbed the breath out of Rey and took the antagonistic nature of her relationship with the First Order to new levels.

Gallius was waging a personal war on her and everyone she loved and fought to protect was paying for it.

_Let’s think about the consequences of making and sustaining me as an enemy, hm. Who suffers when a leader goes to war? The banks? Yes, probably. The soldiers who fight for them? Of course. The councilmen, the stewards, the elders? Most certainly. But who suffers the most? The people, niece. The people who have connected themselves to you. By following your orders, your lead. By trusting you. But no one can trust you, can they, pup? You’re a liar…an abomination.”_

Rey closed her eyes, the landscape of flat plains falling to red tinted darkness. At times like these, she needed Tionne. Tionne and Brakiss and Streen, at her back, where they belonged. But she would never, ever, see them again.

Their deaths and the empty chests designed for Maz and Julien left so many questions unanswered.

She knew for a fact that although the First Order was foolish enough to behave like rabid animals within the borders of Core, they were not so foolish as to touch a hair on an apparent heir of Holt. No one was that foolish. No one.

And although it had been years since she’d heard from Julien, his mourning for Coriander stretching into decades, her brother in law had made sure she could find him if need be. Before leaving, she’d sent a letter to the Ison Trade Corridor, a commercial trading route that branched off the Corellian Trade Spine like a wayward finger, braggadociously planting itself along the Outer Rim territories near Hoth like a hissing threat. Rey figured if a noble wanted to disappear, then the best place to do so would be amongst the land pirates, scavengers, and smugglers—even if Mataou was hotter than lothcat’s innards.

She urged him to stay there, stay hidden, despite what rumors may trickle in. She had no desire to test her theory on the First Order and how close to the line they would play it with the White Wolf Prince of Moorsh Moraine.

Maz Kanata was another situation altogether. Because why would anyone attack Maz? Hell, how did anyone attack Maz and survive? Was it because Maz knew? Then that begged another more important question: How did anyone know Maz knew? How did anyone know Maz helped? Everyone else who knew was either dead or so tied up in her shit that betraying her trust would equal their deaths as well.

It was confusing and so, so fucking irritating.

“We’re here.”

Rey snapped out of the long, twisting nightmare of her own thoughts, focusing. The verdant edges of Nymeve Forest stretched out in front of them like a sleeping green goddess, and the sounds of Takodana’s critters and creatures saturated the air with its benediction to nature, to being alive. She’d only been gone a short month but Maker, how Rey missed her home.

“Do you think it’s a trap?” Finn asked, less impressed with the sight of Takodana as they stared at Maz’s shop, his home dancing along the branches and flat plains that marked the entrance into their village.

“It doesn’t matter either way,” she replied with a grunt.

They dismounted their horses and walked down the muddy dirt path to the front of the shop. Rey was first through the door, pulling Finn behind her. She slid the dagger, black hilt with a black and silver blade, from a boot sheath and kept her hand primed to snatch her staff from her back holster if need be.

Rey eyed the foyer, found it empty and silently waved Finn deeper into the house. Of course, they had to be silent, so they communicated with an odd set of hand gestures they’d come up with as kids. Finn’s first stop was the shop area, set aside by a tarp from the rest of the house. Inside, the counter was bare except for a pestle and mortar filled with roots Rey faintly recognized. Finn inspected the counter then behind it before shaking his head. He flashed his pinky finger and thumb before twisting his wrist. Then flashed his fingers again.

Rey nodded. She’d spent enough days lazing around here to know that Maz wouldn’t leave her work out, exposed and uncovered for more than a few hours, a day at the most. From Finn’s observance, it looked like it had been more than that.

They continued through the house, first checking Finn’s room, which they found untouched, then Maz’s bedroom, empty, and the kitchen, vacant. That left only one place. Finn took the lead and walked down the length of the hallway until he reached the door at the end. It had a heavy lock on it, and Finn grunted as he pushed up on the lever, the lock giving away loudly. The door groaned as he pushed it open and then Finn was rushing into the lab.

“Mom!”

Finn flew to Maz’s side. The older woman was bound and gagged, rolled over onto her side and tucked between two barrels of brine solution so she couldn’t turn. Finn snatched one of his many knives and sawed through the twine binding Maz’s arms together. As soon as her arms came free, they didn’t wrap around Finn but reached up to remove the gag in her mouth.

“I’ll be a fucked Fluurg—I didn’t think you’d actually show up! No, no! Forget about me,” Maz said in a rush as she rubbed her chaffed wrist and pulled her goggles down over her eyes. “You need to leave. Now.”

Finn reared back like Maz was talking in Jawaese. “You’re out of your damn mind. They are running around _killing_ shifters in Takodana. They sent us Tionne, Brakiss, and Streen’s heads in a _fucking_ chest. Left one empty with your name on it! I’m not leaving you.”

Rey came up beside them. “Why do you think we need to run?”

Maz swatted at her son’s hand. “Because if you don’t, you’ll never make it out of here alive.”

Rey narrowed her eyes and glanced up the hallway.

“I need you two to listen to me for once in your foolish lives. Run! I’ll be okay! Just—just get the hell out of Takodana!” Maz yelled as he pushed Finn away from him. “Tie me back up! Put me back in place. That way if they come back, they’ll think no one has been here. They tricked you. They tricked you into coming here, thinking I was in danger.”

“You _are_ in danger!” Finn cried.

“Don’t backtalk me! I would know if I were in danger or not! Get a note to your father. He can handle that greasy, pimpled dick idiot and his friends who put me in here! Without your help. Go! ”

Rey didn’t have time for this. “Finn, grab your mother.”

“No! Just leave me here!”

“No one knows where the hell Chewbacca is, Maz, and I don’t have the time to waste tracking him down!” Rey looked at Finn. “Grab her so we can go.”

Finn helped her to her feet, and they all dashed for the door, Rey racing up the hallways and coming to a stop at the front door. Easing her head out, she looked at the porch, sniffed the air to see if she could smell anyone. No. The air was clear. There wasn’t a gang of shifters racing towards them in First Order colors. Nothing.

“Let me check and then we’ll go, okay?”

The scent bowled her over the moment she took a step off the porch. It was the sickly scent of an olfa being smashed and the air flooding with multiple scents— _one…five…ten?_

From above, the slow snap of applause sounded. Rey whipped around, her hand shielded against the sun, to see a group of people—the smell wafting from them in pungent waves now—sitting on the roof, their identities concealed by the thick hoods that covered their face.

“I can’t say that I’m impressed. All of this,” the man tilted his head. “For you?” He laughed deep from his belly. “For an _Alpha_ of your reputation and supposed caliber, you’re not very good at assessing a situation before jumping into it feet first are you? Probably that whole Omega thing, huh?”

Rey outright ignored him, instead thinking, thinking, thinking. _Should I keep Finn and Maz in the house? Try to get them to the horses using myself as a distraction? Jump to the roof and just fight them? Get it out of the way?_

“There. Your eyes.” The man pointed at him. “This is so very disappointing, Rey Kenobi. You are underwhelming me! Amazing your _oh_ so noble idiot father and half-witted head strong sister didn’t teach you to mask your intentions under duress, pup. You’re giving me everything.”

Rey _was_ under duress. It was hard to hide. “Who are you?”

“Does that matter? You’ll be dead long before it does.”

“Right.” She sighed and ducked back under the porch’s awning. “Count to three and run for the horses,” she whispered, leaning towards mother and son.

She and Finn had known each other ages, and the look he was giving her was unfortunately familiar. “Is this stupid plan hour? I’m not running for the goddamn horses—and stop it!” Finn whispered as he brushed his mother’s hand from the hem of his shirt. “I’m not leaving you either! We are supposed to be a village of thinkers! So, let’s think!”

“Alright, genius.” Maz said. “Start us off.”

Finn looked at the ground, cursing under his breath as he thought. Rey was about to reiterate her plan when his head popped up. “Got it. Rey. Keep ‘em talking. All I need is two minutes.”

Rey’s mouth dropped open. “What?” she hissed furiously.

“Two minutes! Get me two minutes!” Finn grabbed his mother and they disappeared back into the house. Rey watched them go with overwhelming stupor. “I have a _bad_ feeling about this.” Rey resigned herself to the very stupid task and walked back off the porch, looking up to her friends on the roof.

She said the first thing that came to mind. “You say you are here to kill me. Why?”

The man yawned and rested his head in the palm of his gloved hand. “Do you really want to play this game, Kenobi? Why have we always wanted to kill you?”

Rey glared up at him. “Yeah, I get that part, but why do _you_ want to kill me? I can smell it. You are not a Kenobi. You’re not even faintly related to the Kenobi bloodline.” She sniffed again. “None of you are.”

The man snorted. “Look at her. Using her nose for a change. You can smell bloodline essence but you can’t smell five people sitting on a roof like hens in a hen house?”

“What can I say? Got a quirky nose.” She flicked the end of it. “Like I know what an olfa smells like when it’s recently been snuffed out. The oil, you see, it smells worse than what it tries to hide.”

The man shrugged. “You’re right. I’m not a Kenobi.”

“Then why? Why waste your life fighting for an ideology as asinine and logically bankrupt as the First Order’s?”

The man chuckled. “What makes you think it’s, as you put it, logically bankrupt?”

“I’ve been listening to you and yours hem and haw about biological makeup for years. I’ve also heard you cry, over and over again, about good leaders Why overlook the good leader part? I was a damn good Alpha of Takodana. So good I was able to pay back a debt that you hung over my forefather’s heads for centuries. And moreover, the entire time I was Alpha of Takodana, you left me alone. Why does it matter what I am now? Why did it ever?”

“It’s a shame you think that I care about that.” He chuckled again, and it morphed, into high pitched, contagious laughter that spread to the others on the roof. “You could think you were the _best_ leader Takodana has ever seen and it would have still been a lie. You cannot be the leader Takodana needs to be as impure as you are. That’s fact. Gods, child! You think we left you alone because you were a good leader?” Another bark of laughter. “I’ll tell you something, pup, and you listen, because it’s the least I can do.” The man pushed his hood back and crossed his arms like it mattered.

“When your father, sister, her officious mate, and Black Squadron launched that attack on us, and your father and sister died in the aftermath of their own consequences, Julien couldn’t _wait_ to get his ass back to his parents. His war declaration stated that by harming her, we’d harmed him personally. We had to back off, reason with all of Hoth. The recompensation was ridiculous! You were Coriander’s heir—no harm was to come to you while you were Alpha of Takodana.”

“Okay, so why—"

“Yet, you went and did the one thing his treaty couldn’t protect you from. Ambition has doomed you, Alpha of _Core_. Your relatives want you dead and it is our duty as the _Ranc_ Branch of The First Order to make that happen.” He stood and dusted off his hands. “Okay. Enough chit-chat. Time for you to die.”

Rey steeled herself, sliding her foot back into a defensive stance and slid her staff from its holster. “I’m not dying that easily.”

“Yes,” the man cooed. “It’s no wonder we call you a cockroach.”

Rey was adjusting her grip when Finn’s head popped out from the window looking into Maz’s shop.

“Get down,” he mouthed.

Rey frowned, confused. Then she saw something spark brightly in the reflection of Maz’s storefront window. “ _Sithspit_!” She hit the dirt mere seconds before the explosion went off, bright yellows and vivid oranges and…blue. Despite the pretty, odd colors, the sound was not so lovely, loud and piercing as wood from the roof of the shop flew up into the air.

“Holy farking—”

Her ears were still ringing from the blast when she felt arms hauling her up and pulling her towards the dirt path. She shook her head, trying to get her vision to stop swimming, and looked over her shoulder.

_They’d blown a hole clear through the fucking roof of Maz’s shop!_

And, stupefied, Rey told them just that. “You blew a hole clear through the fucking roof!” Rey screeched.

“Well, yes! There are a lot of minerals that will do that, Rey,” Maz gasped as they ran.

They gunned for the horses, who’d skittered further up the path after the explosion. They were good horses so they only moved back and didn’t, say, run for the fucking hills. “The woods! Head for Nymeve! I’ve laid traps—”

The air rushed out of her like she’d ran into a wall. The force of it threw her back right into both Maz and Finn, all three of them hitting the dirt in a tangle of limbs. She groaned and rolled off of them and found herself staring at a cloud of red mist.

“Alliances are great things, Kenobi.” Rey glanced up through the dull pain of a full body collision. The man from before was standing over her, a gentle smile on his face like her actions were adorable. Blood trickled down his temple and a purpling crescent moon was forming under his eye but other than that, he looked fine—which was amazing considering. “You get to use the resources of those alliances when the time comes. Such as today. Meet Taka—”

A woman approached the man’s side and Rey could tell from her red pointed hood what this woman was. A Nightsister. She racked her brains for the meager lessons she’d learned about them—Daughters of Talzin. Able to use dark versions of mage and battle magic. The Winged Goddess. The Fanged God. The Book of Shadows. Powerful.

“Hello, Little Enemy,” Taka sneered as she gazed down at her , her face a shadow against the bright sun behind her.

Rey groaned.

The man made a bored motion with his hand and two of the other Ranc branch members came forward, hauling Finn and Maz from the ground. Maz put a good fight, sinking her teeth into one of their forearms. She shook the apocarthist, like an insolent puppy, then yanked her hands behind her back. Finn never got the chance to fight like his mother—a knife was to his throat the moment he stood.

“You must see now there is no out running fate. You should have been dead a long time ago. Get up, pup. It’s time to stop avoiding what was meant to be.”

Right. When she didn’t move fast enough, Taka rushed forward, grabbing a handful of her hair and yanking her up. It was just the slight leverage she needed to fold her fingers in half and jam her knuckles into Taka’s throat, just above the dark tattooed band stretching above her collarbones. Victory was short lived, however, because Taka slammed her into the red mist—which _was_ as hard as a karking wall—before dragging her over to the man, Rey too dizzy to stop it.

She didn’t need to stop it, not right now. She just needed to think. Think. And she thought, as the man’s sword rose to her chest, then to her throat. She went through plan after plan after plan, her eyes flicking back and forth.

_Think, Rey. Think!_

“You’re not submitting to destiny. Still planning, still scheming.” The man tsked. “Although I’m sure you’ve gotten used to not submitting too much these days, have you? Another mercy, then, to honor the precarious situations you find yourself in. I’ll make this quick and painless. It really isn’t your fault you were born so…wrong.”

“Appreciate it, oh mercifully greasy one,” she mumbled. The sword dropped and for a moment Rey was pleasantly surprised. Then her head was flying to the side from a stiff backhand.

He didn’t like anyone talking about his appearance. Got it.

“However,” he hissed in her face, “before you die, let me tell you exactly what I’m going to do with your friends. A direct consequence of _your_ actions! A lesson you fail to learn over and over again! The Omega?” he sneered. “Sent to First Order lands. A breeding camp.” He glanced at Finn. “He’s _so_ pretty—they’ll be fighting over him! But do not worry. I may claim him first so he is treated well. Claim him over and over and _over_ again.”

No. No. “He has an intended!” Rey yelled, panicked. “You’ll be inviting war with Mandalore by doing that! Let him go! My death should be enough!”

“War with Mandalore?” The man snorted. “You have so much power and think so small.” The man looked over to Maz. “The apothecarist will be sent to Dothamir. Whether she provides us with the secrets of treasons is up to her, but it will determine how well she fares.” Another glance at Finn. “Omega… say goodbye to your mother.”

“What?” Finn started. He struggled in his captor’s grip, yelping when the knife nicked his throat.

“Finn, Finn. No,” Maz tried, her hand held up, placating. “I will be okay. Trust me. I’ve lived far too long to let people so pathetic harm me. Take care of yourself. I will find you,” she vowed.

“Mom, no! Mom! Mom—”

Maz looked from her son and up at Rey, and Rey down at Maz, and the peace, the lack of terror in her eyes, shook Rey. “You will not die here,” she said, steel and determination in her voice. “You are your father’s daughter, Reyn’s legacy, the culmination of everything Coriander was to this world. You will survive. Think of only that. Think of what must be done.”

Rey nodded. She did not feel Maz’s confidence. She did not trust in Maz’s declaration. But she nodded anyways, because she _was_ her father’s daughter, her mother’s child. She was everything Coriander brought to life. She would—she would…

“Maker! Enough of this.” The man motioned to Taka. The Nightsister put two fingers against her lips, lines of dark ink running from her forehead to her chin and whistled sharply. Moments later, a horse galloped from behind Maz’s shop, galloping across the plains until it slowed at Taka’s side. Then it was a blur of movement. Maz was atop Taka’s horse, nestled in front of the Nightsister, her hands bound to the pommel.

“Mist of Ichor,” Taka murmured and just like that, they were gone. No smoke, no dust flying from the horse’s hooves. Just gone.

Rey exhaled loudly, a shuddering breath as she eyed Finn. “I’m sorry,” Rey whispered. She knew what came next.

The man stepped closer and with him the sword until she could feel the tip of it over her left breast.

Finn jerked again, this time only hissing when the knife drew blood. “You don’t have to do this!” he cried. “You don’t!

“Finn. Don’t think about it. Turn your head, keep it turned. Keep your gaze locked on Nyveme. Then when I’m gone, find a way to take care of yourself after this? Show them how _strong_ you are.”

“No!” He jerked away, but this time, he collapsed to his knees, his palms up to the man. “Please,” Finn pleaded; his voice raw with desperation. “You don’t have to do this. We can—we can get you money! The diamond dragons you wanted? They are yours and we won’t tell a soul! Just let her go! I’ll—I’ll still go with you! Just…please. Don’t.”

The man’s eyes flicked down to Finn and for a heartstopping moment, Rey thought it had worked. Until they returned to her. “Any last words?”

Rey set her shoulders and looked beyond him.

The man smiled. “Good girl.”

She did not have any parting words, none that would do anyone any good. What could she say? That she knew one day this would happen? That she’d lived her life cherishing each day, no matter how mutated it was from her original dream, because she was alive?

No. There was nothing to say. But she did have a thought. Just one.

Ben.

She was _so_ close to loving him, so close to being so incandescently happy with him. And that day would never come. She would not be alive for the day he looked at her with adoration and she felt the same reverberating in her chest. Because she could taste it. Feel it with her fingertips. Smell it when she inhaled. She was so close to letting go of her reservation, the things that prevented her pursuit of happiness.

Ben.

She wanted to see his face.

Ben.

She wanted to feel his arms around her.

Ben.

She wanted to hear his voice.

Ben.

The regret sang like the saddest symphony and Rey closed her eyes and waited for it, the sound of the sword cutting through the air with the man’s striking blow, the piercing pain of it hitting true, the slick sound of metal against muscle, grinding of metal against bone.

Instead, what she heard the galloping of horses and a dying scream.

A dying scream that _wasn’t_ hers _._

Rey’s eyes snapped open to find herself in the same predicament, a sword pointed at her heart, but this time the man wasn’t looking at her with a pitying look of justice finally served. No. His dark, small eyes were cutting to the side, locked on the glint of a sword pressed against his neck.

A sword Rey recognized.

_Light._

“Ben,” Rey breathed.

Rey felt Ben’s heart thump in her chest so hard it hurt. And it was the sweetest pain because—Ben. Ben!

Behind Ben, Torben and Siv were finishing dispatching two of the First Order soldiers who’d tried to run away. The barbed end of Torben’s whip wrapped the neck of one, her fingers tearing at it in an attempt to breathe—an attempt Torben ignored from atop his horse. Siv had jumped from her horse and ran the other down. When she reached him, she yanked him back so hard that the crack of his skull against the ground could be nothing but fatal.

Phasma stood at Ben’s flank, her sword even with the man’s, her arm tense as if she were waiting for him to make a stupid decision.

Rey searched the flats for Finn and blanched.

Poe had reached Finn before either First Order flunkie got the chance to harm him. Poe caught one of the men by the neck, squeezing then jerking hard. Their neck snapped, the crack of his spine audible and sickening. His boot was down on the other’s throat, hard and unforgiving, the former captor’s face blue and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

That left one man alive.

“You move for anything other than to draw your last breath and I will tear your throat out with my bare hands,” Ben growled, low and guttural.

The man stood frozen except for visibly shuddering as every second passed.

“Who are you?” When the man didn’t answer, Ben barked loudly in his ear, his teeth bared. This time the man whimpered. “Answer me!”

“I am Ogg,” he quivered pathetically, “son of Ogg.”

Rey watched red bleed into Ben’s eyes as the name rang familiar in both of their ears.

“You,” Ben whispered. “My sister. You harmed my sister.”

Ogg hesitated again until he felt Espada press closer to his neck, a thin line of blood shining from the pressure. “I—it was—a command.”

“A command you followed. And now, you dare to threaten my mate?”

Ogg whined.

Ben’s anger was a peculiar thing to Rey. Because she’d never seen it before. She’d seen Kylo’s stubborn rage, the hot slice of passion and territorialism awry. But she’d never seen Ben angry. Mad, upset, but never so full of rage it banked him in power. _Battle magic_. It was almost soothing, watching the ebb and flow swirl around him. “Tell me,” he stormed. “Tell me exactly how you were planning on killing her. So I can pay you back in kind!”

“Your mate brought this on herself! I am just doing what was told of me. A messenger! You aren’t to harm a messenger!”

Sick amusement swirled with Ben’s fury. “Oh. And how did she do that?

No.

Rey could see Ogg’s intent clear as the blue sky above them and panic surged hot and furious. No. Bile rose in the back of her throat. Her knees almost gave way. No. No! “Ben just—just kill him!”

Another thing. She’d never had Ben turn his fury on her. “You– _shut–up_ ,” he hissed between clenched teeth. “You’ve caused enough. You could have gotten yourself killed!”

“Listen to me!” she tried. “Kill him!”

“Not _another_ word, Rey Kebobi.”

Although it shouldn’t have affected her, the cool, dark command dense with Alphan threat, worked. Rey struggled with it for a faint moment, before her lips pressed together almost unconsciously. And she’d never been more irritated, more disgusted with her body’s reaction to such a thing in her life.

“No! Kenobi. No, Rey. Rey! Please! Don’t keep your silence! Tell him all about your crimes against your own family, your bloodline, against the people of Takodana. Your treason against Core! Tell him, please! Tell him I am innocent!”

Rey bared her teeth, incensed by his sudden cowardice. “Keep your tongue still, snake!” She turned to Ben again. “I am _begging_ you. Kill him! The Ranc branch of The First Order has been naming enemies left and right! Murdering without justification! You can’t start to listen to him now!”

Ben’s hand fluttered to his chest and Rey knew he could feel how fast her heart was beating, what it was saying that she wasn’t. Red eyes stayed trained on hers, hard, unrelenting. “What lies?” he growled towards Ogg.

Ogg was so eager to answer. The First Order was so very eager to ruin her life. “Your mate _lies_! To you, to everyone who crosses her path. The _great Alpha Prime of Core,_ ” Ogg spat. “How she rose to such prominence on the back of her treason!”

“Treason,” Ben said calmly.

“Yes! Treason! She is not who she says she is! She, Rey Kenobi, was born an Om—"

Rey’s dagger was deep in Ogg’s heart before he could finish. Her lip was curled back over an elongated fang and her voice was an angry hiss. “It is fortunate that you suffered my blade instead of an Imperial prison. Would have been nice to peel the flesh from your body slowly. Piece by piece. Alas. Accept your face, you piece of shit.”

Ogg looked at her, eyes quivering in pain, maybe, but shock, absolutely. His eyes dropped down to the hilt poking from his chest. With one last look, where Rey could see the life leaving his eyes, he slumped forward.

Without an ounce of remorse, Rey yanked her dagger free and pivoted away, letting his body hit the ground in a cloud of dirt and dead grass. With his death, the anger faded, receding into the background of lethargy. The dagger dropped to her side, then to the ground.

“Rey.”

He did it again. That hard, unloving edge of a command.

And Rey deserved it. She deserved it. She was sore, she was in pain. But most of all. She was tired. She was _so_ tired.

“Omega,” Rey announced. “He was going to say Omega.”

There was silence, stretched thin like overworked taffy, sticky, inescapable. Then. “Explain what you are saying.”

Rey glanced up. She was expecting to see the hardboiled stiffness of command, of authority, of the absolute right to know. What she saw instead was confusion. In her chest, she felt his apprehension. His fear.

“I am an Omega.” She stated it cleanly, unmistakably clear. “My designation. Omega.”

In between heartbeats, Ben was at her side, close, so close she could smell the sweat and grime and raw power on him, so close she could smell his sweet wet dirt essence, so close she could feel him on her, her brain playing back every instance he’d ever touched her. He wasn’t touching her now. He hovered, like she was an aberration to the Rey he once knew.

Correct.

“Rey.” Maker. He was pleading. “I can _smell_ you. You don’t smell like anything that can be described. You don’t smell like an Omega. Stop—fucking—around and tell me what is going on.”

Rey did not have time to baby him with this information. She needed him to understand. “You haven’t noticed anything new?” Rey 's hand fluttered to the phial around her neck. “I’ve been wearing an _olfa_. It’s been blocking my scent ever since the suppressant stopped working.”

“Suppressant?” Ben asked. “What suppressant?”

“It’s—” Rey sighed. Because of everything, this was the one thing that didn’t matter! “It’s called Haven. A variant of a herbal mixture named _Lunest_. A stronger version that morphs as it masks, transforms designation pheromones into…something else. Into what they need to be. Someone shy can have their scent altered to attract. Someone untouchable can become desired. Someone born an Omega, can smell like an Alpha.”

Ben stumbled away from her, big heavy steps that kicked up dirt. “I don’t—what are you—what are you talking about?” Ben said, his voice unsteady. “Rey, Gods, please. Make me understand. I _want_ to understand.”

Rey looked away from his…display. She couldn’t afford to become regretful now. She couldn’t backtrack to save him from her betrayal. “I have another medication I can take,” Rey pushed on, because it had to come out. Out. Out. “ I was going to take it, soon, as soon as I wrapped my head around the thought of me and you. I just needed a little more time. And then I was going to come to you because I promised Kylo that I would—”

Shock colored Ben’s face. “Kylo knew.”

“I didn’t share anything with your wolf. He already knew. I cannot be blamed for that.”

Ben ranted on like he hadn’t heard her. “You—you shared this with my wolf and this is how I’m finding out?”

“This,” Rey laughed because the totality of her fatigue was radically erasing her good sense. “This is what I’ve been trying to avoid from the very beginning! This. That–that _stupid_ look on your face! Because you feel stupid, right? That I tricked you? That you exalted someone so unworthy,” she hissed. “I tried to prevent this, Ben. All of it.”

“Stop it. Stop talking about yourself like that—” Then his face hardened. “You are lying to me. Which I know you’ve done far too well in the past few hours but it ends now. Stop it, Rey. Stop it.”

He gave her his back, turning to Poe. “Get Finn on a horse. We are leaving.” He snapped off a command in Phasma’s direction. “You too. We are leaving.”

Nobody moved, a rainbowed assortment of shock, and pity, and horror across their faces.

“Right now!” he yelled, baring his teeth at them.

Ben shouldered past Rey to press his point, marching towards Eclipse, Nightdream munching on grass behind her. But, no. Rey wasn’t having it. This avoidance was unsustainable. No. Now. Now. Now! As he moved past her, she grabbed his wrist to stop him, but Rey felt the tension in his body, felt her touch snap the thin filament of Ben’s composure. He spun on her.

“Get on your _fucking_ horse,” he pushed out between snarling, clenched teeth. “Whatever this bullshit is, it can wait!”

No.

She’d lived a life where giving it as good as she got it not only helped her keep her position sturdy in the pack, but it also kept her alive. So, she snarled back at him, a bright flare of strength and bravado, that showed, regardless, she held as much power as he did. Her hand came to her neck. She snapped the chain. She raised her hand and threw it down, watching it smash against the ground. The liquid inside of the phial sizzled as it made contact with the ground, that sickly, oily fragrance rising before it seeped into the earth, its power fading, then disappearing.

Ben’s nostrils twitched, once. Twice. Red pupils dilated. Widened. Rey tilted her head back, raised her chin, tried to keep her bottom lip from trembling.

Ben stumbled away from her, his face screwed in some unimaginable tincture of dread and shock. “Impossible,” Ben whispered, his hand coming up to his nose. “This can’t be…”

“It is so,” Rey said, her heart twisting in her chest. “I am what I am, Ben.”

Ben pulled away abruptly, _harshly_ , to face Phasma. “Get a messenger bird to Appenza Peak. I want The Oracles here. Yesterday.”

Phasma nodded and she, Siv and Torben took off towards Nyeme Forest, to Takodana, in search of Ako. Ako was the Messenger Bird Keeper. Rey almost opened her mouth, to tell them who to look for. To make this all easier for everyone. But Gods, she was tired.

“Poe.”

Poe looked up from the ground. Rey saw it. The guilt, the pity, before he hid it away. “Yes, my —” he started, his voice rough around the edges. So he cleared his throat and tried again. “Yes, my leader.”

“I don’t care where you take her but take her away. Lock her up. Make sure she cannot leave. That no one else can enter.”

“Ben. I—there has to be a better way to do this. Don’t be rash! We can—”

“Get her out of here!” he yelled, the muscles in his face clenching, “It’s for her own goddamn protection. She fucking reeks—”

Ben pulled his hand away from his nose. Inhaled deep, and with that, regained some of his composure.

“Do as I say, Poe.” He glared at Rey and Rey almost took a step back under the heat of it. “Do as I say,” he breathed before he turned for the path.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People  
> [ Julien Kang is a real person. I love him. He is beautiful ](http://blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?blogId=cozy_juan&logNo=221098959960)  
> [ Nightsisters ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Nightsisters/Legends)  
>  [ The Winged Goddess ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Daughter/Legends)  
> [ The Fanged God ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Son/Legends)  
> [ The Book of Shadows ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Book_of_Shadows)
> 
> Places  
> [ Ison Corridor ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Ison_Corridor)  
> [ Corellian Trade Spiner ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Corellian_Trade_Spine/Legends)  
> [ Outer Rim Territories ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Outer_Rim_Territories/Legends)
> 
> Things  
> [ Ranc gang ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Ranc_gang)  
>  [ Spirit Ichor ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Spirit_ichor)  
>  [ Mind Trick (Illusions) ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Mind_trick/Legends)


	17. harm[ony]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arguments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, friends.  
> Sorry for the delay in this chapter. I wrote it a few weeks ago but then I spent the better of that time organizing within my local community and nationally for the #BLM unrest across the nation. Then, as a black woman, I had to take a break. Still fighting, but breaaaaaaaaaaaaaak. 
> 
> But I also realized I needed some happy-happy and posting this chapter (even tho everyone is still sharing ONE BRAIN CELL) makes me happy! So enjoy! All the...arguing!
> 
> Jade

Ben rarely had nightmares these days. He used to, bad dreams that had him crying for Leia as a child, horrid dreamscapes that had him wishing Han would hold him, and as a young man, dreams that exhausted him, made him hate himself, hate the circumstances of his life that allowed him to go parentless. They, the dreams, never targeted Ben—they made a victim of him by antagonizing, torturing, tormenting Kylo, goading him to force Ben into a state where Kylo could take over, take control.

See, Kylo wasn’t always so short-tempered, easy to incite. He used to be calmer, methodical, resistant to stimulus. But Kylo always, always wanted to protect Ben, so he became a monster, one that could stand up to Snoke’s physical and mental abuse.

Eventually they ceased, either because Kylo got stronger, or Snoke lost his grip—his influence over Ben, now a man, an Alpha grown, and the leader of the clan Snoke wanted so bad.

So, no. Nightmares were rare.

Dreams, however, weren’t.

In this dream, Rey sat on the bed, covered in something too sheer to be anything but intimate. She smiled at him, brave in her newfound affection for their upcoming union, adoring that she was adored. She leaned forward, kissed him, a soft thing, more presence than pressure, and then she was gone, like a water nymph, disappearing in a splash of water and fog.

It brought Ben out of his slumber, his eyes and body heavy with sleep, half giddy, still in between the world of his mind and the world he resided in. He reached for her, wanting for both her soft curves and firmness, yet he found nothing. His hand landed on cold sheets.

Confusion.

Then…

_“I’m sorry.”_

There was no hesitation. Warm feet were slapping against cold stone as he fled his room in search. He slid to a stop in the hallway, half his body warmed by the floating crystal between their rooms. At the end of the hall stood two guards who were staring at the ground as Poe yelled. As if he were attuned to Ben’s stress, Poe looked up, then he was racing down the hall, his hand clutched around a piece of paper.

“They’re gone.”

“What the fuck do you mean they are gone?” Ben raged, his eyes now on the guards. “Is the security of this place so lax that two shifters can just walk out of here—”

“As you did?” Poe asked, brow rose.

Ben’s mouth cracked open, ready to rip Poe a new one, ready to remind him this wasn’t the fucking time, when Poe held the letter up. “They went to find Finn’s mother.”

That wasn’t an unreasonable move, but Rey was the Alpha Prime of Core. Finn, the High Steward. She commanded armies, now, and Finn held sway over a man who would move mountains for him. Anyone could have been sent to check up on Finn’s mother. “Who knows the roads to Takodana best?”

“Rose or Paige, my best guess, but I would go with Rose. If only to get her away from Hux for a few days. He’s been acting like a demented, territorial _Nexu_. He has to learn to control that and Paige will force him to.”

“Rose isn’t even his intended mate,” Ben muttered before turning heel and heading back to his room. “He can watch the Fortress while we are gone. Sure he would love that. Summon Rose,” he commanded as he began shouldering his way into his traveling clothes. He didn’t even know how Rey was dressed, if she’d left in a hurry, taking minimal supplies or if she was well prepared for the half day journey. Growling, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Summer Phasma, Torben, and Siv as well. We’ll need their navigational prowess. We leave within the half hour.”

They rode hard for Takodana, with Rose and Paige’s hastily drawn map of the best route—flying across the Mandalore and Alderaan border, then down and up the Endor and Takodana border until they reached the statues—while Siv and Torben sniffed out shortcuts off the main road towards the plains that proceeded Takodana. It was a frenzied chase. The last time a search party like this was put together, their Supreme Alpha had kidnapped his newly minted intended mate. Now, their Alpha Prime had absconded into the night, mere hours after the First Order sent them execution trophies.

It felt like a race against time.

Ben, through training and meditation and dogged determination, had conditioned himself not to feel despair. It was useless, it clouded the mind, dulled the senses and the last thing he needed as a leader was to be in a state that made him less aware. He instead had felt the other polarizing emotions—fear. Fear sounded like Snoke’s footfalls towards his room door when he’d done something the man found inexcusably wrong, him peeling back the layers of his mind to torment him. It felt like Ren’s, the sparmaster under Han, training. He had a right hook that _hurt. Once he’d kicked Ben so hard that the healers were minding ribs for weeks._ It smelt like the iron tang in the air when his mother cut her bond and they had to race through Alderaan. He even understood what trepidation, anxiousness felt like. They were things Han taught him to appreciate and understand—to know that your body went through changes in these states that you could use to your advantage.

But despair? The taste of it was heavy on his tongue. It was what he felt as he raced into the plains. It was what he felt when he saw the tip of a sword leveled at Rey’s chest.

The aftertaste was still there as he wandered around Takodana.

So that he wasn’t prowling around Takodana like an untethered _Aclay_ , Ben wandered around until he found a fountain at the middle of the village, sitting in the center of a throughway that bent in four different directions. Once word got out that he was in their presence, Takodanians flooded out of their homes, and taverns, and pubs, and meat shops and blacksmiteries to approach him, surrounding him and the fountain like a ring on a finger.

The first round of questions had been about the explosion. Ben hadn’t been there for it, but he’d seen the aftermath—the huge hole in Maz Kanata’s roof, debris found scattered halfway down the path. That didn’t last long—they had investigative teams who would handle that. No, what was more important was the Supreme Alpha simply being in their village.

Out of the thick crowd, an older shifter, stooped over but still fast on her feet, shouldered her way through the crowd. People would protest and then look down, see her scowling face and scramble out of the way. Ben wandered what kind of reputation could garner such a response.

She approached him like he was a rare artifact…or a beast she didn’t understand. “My son went to Core to see the selection ceremony, yes he did. Said the wolf chosen as Supreme Alpha was a fine, _fine_ young shifter. Looks like he was right!” She paused to look him up and down through narrowed eyes. “You’re so damn big! Handsome, too!

“Uh, thank you?”

She waved it away like his awkward gratitude was a fly. “Would have been just right for my Clara. I said it so myself, pissed my grandson off! He’s a Solusar—indignant, righteous bunch, they are. Takes after his mother. Anywho, he started yelling at me about how honorable and loyal you were. How you were just what our Rey needed.” She paused, came up on her toes, then leaned to the side to look around him. “Where is she, by the way. No way she would have sent you all the way here by yourself! Not our Golden Daughter!”

Ben cleared his throat. “How is your search for an Alpha?” Rey did not designate an heir before she ascended—a grievous error in his opinion. But then again…

He shook his head as the older woman linked her arm with his, leading him to Maker-knows-where. “A good Alpha is so hard to find. Rey had nor adopted any children. Hell, she didn’t even have anyone she was sweet on, so by the time she was submitting her name, we were already looking for a replacement. So far, we’re left with Beaumont Kin, a Kenobi by marriage, not by blood, thank the stars,” she exclaimed. “He…somehow found himself a mate, so he’s being slower than a drugged up lothcat getting here. I’m sure you know this but us common folk don’t have to wait around for some auspicious “mating moon” to make a beast with two backs.”

Someone from the crowd gasped. Another groaned. A third said, “Beckles!”

Which she ignored. “But I’m sure you are very excited for the upcoming one! That reminds me, why are you here? Shouldn’t you be getting prepared?”

Again, Ben offered a smile and nothing more. As they continued through town, he kept the older shifter—Beckles—close to him, trying to pry any other facts about the person who was _supposed_ to be his mate. He learned a lot of things, quaint little hometown stories about _whoever_ Rey was—her favorite color, green, and how she ran the fastest footrace in Takodana—twelve seconds!—and how for two years she fancied herself a boy. Yet no mention was ever made about Rey being an Omega.

At dusk, the interim castellan managed to drag him away from his informant, leading him, Phasma, and the newly arrived Rose into a small council for Black Squadron—whatever _that_ was. As reticent as he was about who owned the room, he was far less willing not to speak highly of them. Ben half listened, because he would find out on his own why Takodana had some sort of secret Squadron–until he caught the tail end of a sentence.

“If you stick around long enough, you should be able to meet Tionne. She can explain a bit more to you about it, seeing that you’re Rey’s intended mate. It could be useful information? She took two others to the woods to hunt a few days to prepare for our _Ludi_ festival. Should be back in the morning.”

It chilled Ben to his bones. _They didn’t know._

Ben groaned—he needed to tell them, they needed to know, and they needed to find out in the gentlest way possible before it was slapped onto a Core’s newspaper and circulated around the clan. He opened his mouth to tell them what had happened to their clan members when the door opened and the three Oracles entered, less the fanfare Ben was expecting. A quiet, muted affair. Durteel Haza, the Elder of Delphi, was devoid of the customary robes he wore during ceremonies, while two of his prelates trailed behind him in white flowing robes and voluminous sleeves. Durteel spotted him instantly and rushed towards the table, his white roughspun pants and cotton shirt reflecting much of the low candlelight.

“My Lord Supreme Alpha,” he intoned, bowing low, almost bending in half. “You summoned me? I was told it was dire. Of extreme importance?”

Ben nodded towards the chair, a silent command for Durteel Haza to take a seat. The two prelates hovered by the door until Rose pushed one in further with a gentle hand on their lower back, indicating where they should sit.

“How can I be of service, my Lord Alpha?”

Ben said nothing, just slid the broken pieces of Rey’s phial towards the Elder of Delphi, who fingered the sharp edges of glass with curiosity. “What is this?”

“It _was_ an olfa.”

Durteel Haza smeared some of the oily residue on his fingers. The scent had waned in the hours since it had been broken, so the Elder brought it to his nose. “Ah,” he said as he inhaled the scent. “What purpose does this have to our conversation?”

Ben inhaled as deep as he could, let his lungs fill with air, hoping patience came with it. He was getting very tired of being lied to.

“What does it have to do with this conversation, I wonder.” He pried off his traveling cloak, leaving him just in a thin black cotton shirt, one he’d rolled the sleeves up for. He wanted to look intimidating, so he leaned forward for a moment, staring at Durteel, jaw clenching and unclenching before sitting back. “Since I was a child, I’ve been told that the Blood Moon gets what the Blood Moon wants. Which has always been an Alpha couple to mate. So that Core would survive.”

Durteel Haza nodded. “That’s right. That is the prophecy.”

“So,” Ben said, his voice low and harsh,” explain to me how I am two days away from mating an Omega?”

One of the prelates made an abortive sound, a half sob, before the one across from kicked her under the table. Ben noted that but kept his eyes on Durteel.

The Elder, however, looked at Ben like he was insane.

“Well, I hope that you’ll excuse me for what I am about to say to you, my Lord Alpha, but I certainly hope you are _not_ on the verge of mating ‘some Omega’. Do you want to die?” he cried out. Ben raised a brow, and Durteel visibly forced himself into calm, brushing down his white clothing with red, scaled hands. “I may be a Beta but I understand the urges of an Alpha towards Omegas. It’s in your blood, you cannot fight it. Is it children you’re after? Adopt! Or we can supply you with a fertile Omega since the promise of Rey being barren is a guarantee. There are solutions, my Lord, ones that don’t involve you walking away from your intended mate and _dying_.”

Ben monetarily closed his eyes, forced the sharp painful edges of his words out of his chest, past his throat, and out of his mouth. “Unless I kill her.”

Durteel Haza was the color of day old fallen rose petals. When he was upset, he deepened to a violent purple. “What did you say?”

“You heard me. Unless I _kill_ her? If I end her life, then there is no obligation to fulfill and the fragile tether to our souls is cut loose. All I would need to do is to spill her blood instead!” he said through gritted teeth, slamming his fist on the table. “I have a brother. Smart. Resourceful. Came to me one night, said “If she betrays you, kill her so you can live,” I thought he’d lost his damn mind—Rey wasn’t going to betray me. So, I yelled at him, told him I would never resort to that, didn’t speak to him for days.”

Durteel Haza’s face grew darker by the minute. “Yes, that’s true,” he hissed, propriety to the fucking wind. “But understand that if I gave that information out, every unwanted political marriage would end in bloodshed. It wouldn’t matter if it only applied to Blood Moon betrothals. This is my faith, Alpha, it is _my_ life,” he seethed. “So, I would appreciate it if you would tell me why you’re twisting the prophecy like this. What has Rey done to deserve such from the shifter she is destined to mate with?”

Ben held Durteel’s gaze and tapped on the table. “I’m assuming you forgot what I said earlier. About mating with an Omega?”

Durteel Haza growled. “Be clear! What does that have to do with—"

“Rey is an Omega, Elder,” said one of the prelates, the one who looked like she was going to cry earlier.

Durteel Haza whipped around to look at her. “Now is not the time for your games, child! Rey Kenobi is not an Omega. She comes from a long line of strong Alpha leaders. If Rey were an Omega, I would know. _Everyone_ would fucking know–”

Durteel Haza paused abruptly like the world had been halted under his feet. His gaze dropped, shifted to the table, landed on the phial. “Heavens above and fire below,” he whispered harshly. “That’s…”

“Impossible?” Ben laughed, the heel of his hand grinding into his forehead. “It’s very possible and because of _your_ lies I am bound to a liar!” He swiveled around to point at Kaydel. “Answer my questions honestly and you will not die tonight. Nod if you understand me,” he grounded out.

Kaydel rushed to do so.

“If Rey is an Omega, and you were well aware of it by your admission, why then would you pair her with me?”

Kaydel’s mouth flopped open and closed, like she was gulping for air that didn’t exist. It wasn’t like Ben was using battle magic to choke her—that would be counterproductive. Maybe later. Maybe tomorrow. She turned into a stuttering mess, and his patience was thin, so he barked at her. In response, Kaydel yelped and threw herself to the ground. “Please forgive me, my Lord Supreme Alpha! Please! Have mercy!”

The other prelate stood, glared down at her peer with a look akin to disgust. “I made her do it. We read the exact same prophecy, acknowledged the same exact choice and I had to force her into feeding it to Elder Durteel.”

“Jessika!” Durteel Haza cried.

“Her duty is to Core! Not to either of you.” She gave Kaydel one last hard glare before turning to Ben. “I will answer your questions.”

She stood at the side of the table, impertinent, indignant and it made Ben’s blood boil. “Then answer them,” he clipped out.

“When we were given the task to decipher the Blood Moon’s prophecy, we did so in earnest and with ethical proclivity—that much you must know. The Blood Moon wants what it wants. So, we try our hardest to give it what it wants. To do this, we make several pairings of the candidates and offer them up. To make sure it is done without bias, Kaydel and I do it separately, offering up the candidate pairs and seeing if our answers matched. The prophecy either accepts or rejects it. It’s black and white. Here are your new rulers, these two, right here are destined.”

Ben scoffed. “You’re saying that’s what happened this time?”

“Yes. Yet, this time it was greyer. We got two different answers this time. The Blood Moon picked two different pairs.”

“Jessika,” Durteel Haza admonished. “That is impossible!”

“As you can see, honored Elder, nothing is impossible. The first pair picked was you,” she said, turning back to Ben, and Armitage Hux of Endor.” Ben visibly shuddered. “Strange. It was strange. We examined your pairing. It was not catastrophic, yet it was not a pairing love. Even so, some particularly good things came out of your pairing.”

“I find that very hard to believe,” he muttered.

“There was just one problem. The closer we looked, the more we saw the prophecy warning us. How your pairing would tear Core in two. How it would cause division amongst ranks, how it would end truces and destroy relationships with allies. We saw a Core drenched in blood and burning. War. We saw War.”

Ben raised a brow. “And you examined the other pairing, the other Alpha pair the Blood Moon demanded, and determined that it should be me, an Alpha. and Rey, who is not an Alpha.”

“You underestimate the prophecy. You underestimate the power of it and our Gods. Rey is an Alpha, in name and spirit,” Jessika forcefully pointed out. “It was enough for the Blood Moon. And despite the Blood Moon revealing Rey’s designation to us, we still examined the pairing between you two. With it, we saw something different.”

Ben chuckled darkly. “Oh, world peace, rainbows, and happiness I presume?”

“No,” Jessika said. “The Blood Moon ushers in calamity. War was always going to come.”

Ben’s fingers curled into fist. “You’re doing a shit job explaining why you did this. If our pairing led to war as well, why not just pair me with another fucking Alpha like the Blood Moon called for?”

“Because calamity is unavoidable! It was always going to come. There _will_ be war. There _will_ be blood, and fire, and death. What mattered is what brought peace. When we examined you and Rey’s pairing, we saw something different. Something that only your bonding could produce.”

Ben narrowed his eyes. “And just what is it?”

The fire in Jessika’s eyes banked like thrown sand and she finally, finally looked away. “I am not allowed to tell you that. Fate is fate. We cannot explain nor inform you of what fate will lead you to, what fate will move in your souls and lives.”

Ben hummed. “You’re allowed to fuck with our lives, but you can’t tell me how in detail.” Ben sat still, staring down at his hands, past his hands, to the phial on the table, fist clenched. He was fine. He was fine. He was fine. He was fine…until he wasn’t. Cold fury welled up in him, followed by sickening rage and he reached out, battle magic strumming from his fingers, to snatch Jessika from where she stood, her feet hovering above the ground until he slammed her into the wall. The young prelate yelped, fingers scrambling at her neck.

Rose came to Jessika’s side, then whipped around to Ben. “My lord, please! You cannot do this!”

Ben growled and ignored her. “You are not to tell a soul. A _soul_ , you hear me? If this gets out, I will have you drawn and quartered and your head paraded on a fucking stick for all of Core to see,” Ben snarled.

“You can’t harm an Oracle!”

“Jessika. Nod if you can breathe. Do not lie.” Jessika nodded quickly. “See.”

“And you cannot threaten one!”

“I didn’t threaten,” Ben challenged as he glared angrily into Jessika’s eyes. “I made a promise.” He released his grip on Jessika and the young prelate fell to the ground. Quickly, she scampered away, hiding being Kaydel.

“Tell your Alpha to bring Rey to me. Now.”

“Ben…”

“ **Now**.”

With a defeated sigh, Rose turned and left. Phasma stepped in from guarding the door and looked around. “Everything good?”

Ben grunted his answer and Phasma returned to her post. Ever diligent, ever loyal.

“My Lord Alpha,” Durteel Haza implored. “Shouldn’t we talk about this? Shouldn’t a solution be discussed?”

“I have a solution,” Ben muttered quietly. “I _always_ have a solution.”

Ben couldn’t tell how much time had passed since Rose left because he was suspended, locked in a circuit of thoughts that grew darker and darker. There weren’t many other sounds to distract him other than the fire crackling, Durteel mumbling to himself, or Jessika slapping Kaydel’s hands away from her neck. Then the door opened. And the voices inside of his head, ones he hadn’t heard in years, came to life.

Betrayer. _Siqsa_. Disloyal. _Tash_. Liar. _Taral ûsh zuguruk._

No. No.

Ben pushed the voices out and they left, but not without leaving a trail of miasma that lingered in his brain. He looked behind him, saw Siv and Torben step in, then Rose, then Rey. Then Poe.

_I can do this. I can do this_.

Then the only other sound in the room was the metal against metal screech of Ben clearing Light from its sheath. He raised it then leveled it…

“You knew,” he hissed.

Ben was waiting to see shock in Poe’s eyes, but his accusation produced none of that. There was only the disgusting glint of guilt. Still, his eyes darted down to Light, then back up. “Ben. You need to put that sword down.” He held his hand out to the side, stopping Rose from interfering.

“You don’t get to tell me what to fucking do. I asked you a question. Answer it.” Ben said, his voice low and guttural, alive with fury. “You knew. This entire time you knew and never said a word to me. Nothing!”

“Yes,” he admitted. “I knew. But what would you have me do? The Gods _ordained_ this, Ben. Who am I to speak against that?”

Ben took a step forward, the tip of the sword hovering over the thin patch of skin just below Poe’s throat. “You fear the Gods’ wrath over mine? But don’t think I was asking you to speak out against the Gods. No. No, Poe. I expect you to have spoken to me. I am your leader. Your friend! And you’d stand aside, knowing, and let me—”

“Finn is mine!” Poe seethed, his voice raw and hard. “You can kill me, Ben. Strike me down. It would be a just punishment! But you will not fault me for protecting what is mine.”

There was movement in the corner of his eyes, a slim hand reaching out for him and his blade. “Ben. Don’t blame him. Don’t do this.”

“Shut up!” Ben riposted, his fangs elongated and gleaming. “Shut your lying filth ridden mouth!” He swung his sword from Poe to Rey. The rage inside of Ben was unmistakable; he felt it under his skin, in his bones. He felt the anger bleeding into his eyes, painting them red. “I honored you. I protected you. I tried to be better than what my instinct told me to do! I did it for you. The Supreme Alpha of Core, bending to your will. Ha! What a great fool I am! Thinking you would do the same for me. Instead you lied! You lied and you lied!”

Rey opened her mouth, but no words came out.

“Great,” he breathed, his chest heaving. “I’m glad you have nothing to say for yourself! I wouldn’t want to hear it! I am strong, Rey. Stronger than you think. I can do this! I can do whatever needs to be done! And I’m going to do what Kylo should have done the moment he found you out. And I am going to save myself. I am going to save Core from your treachery!”

With a flick of battle magic, Rey was on the ground kneeling before him. His grip tightened around Light but something pinched. His ring. The ring that had meant everything to him, that signified their mutual respect for each other, their friendship, their union, his love, burned the skin of his finger. He snatched it off and threw it at her. Rey made a futile reach for it, but it slipped through her fingers and bounced off the floor.

She stared at it for a long quiet moment, her bottom lip quivering, before she reached out. She plucked the large wooden ring up and placed it in her palm, fingers wrapping around it. Then it was at her chest, like it was precious to her.

No. Ben would not be fooled again. He tried to ignore the beating of his heart, the beating of Rey’s heart, ignored the one off that was so minute that it felt like the steady beating of drums to a song, a dance they could both fall–NO! He clutched at his chest, his heart, because it hurt. It hurt so much.

Rey looked up at him, tears lining the bottom of her eyes. “Ben,” she laughed softly. “It’s okay. I’ve been so tired. Of lying. To you. To everyone. To keeping up this ruse for so many years and now that _you_ know, it’s okay. I understand.”

“I know what I have to do,” he whispered _. I can fix this. I can fix this. I can fix this_. He raised his sword high. _I am the Supreme Alpha of Core. I can win whatever war, I can solve this deceit, this poison. I can fix this. I can_ fix _this_. His resolve did not stop the tears that leaked out of the side of his eyes. He sounded so pathetic. “I would have given you everything that was mine to give. My life, Rey. You told me –you told me…”

“It’s okay, Ben. Do what you have to do.”

“Ben, don’t!” Poe yelled. He ran forward but Ben dropped his hand and released a short blast of the Force, watching his friend fly back. Rose’s eyes jutted between him and Rey. Phasma stood at the threshold, staring at the scene before walking away and closing the door behind her.

That’s right. No one was going to stop him. No one _could_ stop him. No one. No one. No one. No—

_Lower your sword, you fucking fool!_ Kylo growled from inside of his head.

Ben shook his head, trying to quiet him, the one voice that never went away. “I don’t need you. I don’t need either of you.”

Torben gave Ben a strange look, even with his hands up, like he was still trying to figure out a way to prevent this.

_“I don’t give a damn about what you think you need. If you kill her, you will die!_

“No, I won’t! That’s the point! I will live! I don’t—the prophecy has been corrupted. I—I can still mate with Hux like it commanded! I will live to mate someone who wouldn’t lie to me like this!”

Rose’s head snapped to his. “What is…what is he talking about?”

Kylo laughed. _Oh, how I love it when you overestimate yourself. That’s right,”_ Kylo crooned. _Every person who has ever hurt you, you’ve hurt back, haven’t you? Climbing the ranks off revenge and petty rivalry. And that’s all you know, isn’t it? But…do you think you’ll survive the heartsickness, you insufferable idiot?_

“I can beat _anything_. Heartsickness? Heartsickness! Is what I feel strong enough? Can it withstand the fact that I don’t even know who she is?” His hand was trembling. He couldn’t stop trembling.

_You know her._ You know her _. She is who she is! I know you better than anyone and I will always know you better than anyone! You kill Rey and Kira dies! I die! You will die. Maybe not today, maybe not in a decade, but you will die, miserable and lonely_ , _knowing you executed the love of your life._

“No. No. No. I can do it, Kylo. I can! And I won’t let you stop me.”

_Such a foolish man. So blind. I see now that I don’t have to stop you. You can’t do it. Your hand trembles because your heart trembles. You do love her. You love her too much to kill her._

“I,” he tried. “I…”

_It is time to accept fate. Put the sword down, Ben_.

A sob tore from Ben’s lips as the sword clattered to the ground. He held his sword hand, the pain of the truth ripping into it like a hot knife. The walls, the walls were closing in around him, leaning towards him with their judgement.

**Shame. Shame. Shame. He would kill his mate. How can he rule if he’s so _weak_?**

His knees gave out, banging on the floor. He couldn’t feel it. He couldn’t feel anything but Rey. Rey’s breath fluttering across his brow. Her hand drawing closer. The weight of her golden stare on his eyes. He’d never seen her eyes so resplendent before. _She was crying. Gods, who could she be crying for? What pain does she think she feels that eclipses mine? Selfish woman. Selfish, selfish, selfish_ —

He felt her hand on his cheek. Soft. Warm. _What was she doing? Oh. He was crying in now. How embarrassing._ But his eyes fluttered anyways, he leaned into it, and for a faint, faint moment, he was healed.

He knew, then, what Kylo said was true. _I do love her_.

Oh, but what is love in the fact of stubborn anger, the feeling of betrayal? A man too proud to be comforted? He flinched and drew away from her like it burned.

And then he ran. Like a coward, he ran, and ran, and ran, escaping into the darkness.

The large twin statues of Bastila Shan and Revan were always visible, even miles away in Alderaan. Standing at the base and looking up they towered heavenwards, almost seeming to touch the sky. Tonight, Revan, always the taller of the two, soared higher and it looked as if a halo of stars circled his head. Bastila looked up at him, her eyes full of affection as Revan cast his loving gaze down back down.

If you believed the stories, which Ben did, then you believed that Bastila Shan met Revan, Alpha of Kashyyyk, while fleeing an arranged marriage her father in Mandalore set up. And it wasn’t her first time. Rumor had it that Bastila ran away twice a moon’s turn and those sent to fetch her were always on the tip of those toes, waiting to be deployed so they could drag her back, kicking in screaming.

Yet this trip, while running from her father’s guards again, she met Revan in a market. Revan was instantly besotted by her looks (and “Her thriced damned attitude!”).

Revan ,who dispatched his own guard to keep Mandalorian ones away. Revan, who was surprised when Bastila told him on the second night of her stay in Kashyyyk, that she wanted to have no less than eight of his children. Revan, who demanded Bastila’s hand the next day and threatened to launch a war if he didn’t get it.

Revan, who only got one child out of Bastila but the worthiest woman he’d even encountered as his mate. And together, they saved the world. Together, they formed Core.

That was what mated love was supposed to be like.

Ben took a seat at the base of Revan and craned his head back, looking at the sky. It might have been hours that had passed since he’d almost…

He was…no, better wasn’t the word. He was calm now, his rage more a petulant, petty thing, giving him a chance to be stubborn and lick his wounds. He didn’t know what he was going to do. He didn’t know what he could do.

He’d almost killed Rey. He looked down at his hands, hands that had been this close to ending her life. A foolish fool indeed. He snarled at nothing in particular and fell back against the statue, his hands tucked across his chest.

Then there was a noise, the sound of feet shuffling from the path, a whistling. On edge, his head swiveled toward the sound, prepared to fight. Had some Takodanaian assassin come to kill him to avenge Rey? Was it someone here to challenge him for her hand under the pain of death? Was it—oh. Grunting, he sat back against the statue.

“What do you want, Rose?

“Ah, my wonderful leader. Glad you’re glad to see me,” she teased.

Ben rolled his eyes and repeated his question. “What do you want, Rose? If you’re here to drag me back there, forget it. If you’re here to bother me, distract me, forget it. I would like to be left alone.”

Instead of obeying, she chose a spot at the base of the statue and took a seat. “Well, lucky for you I’m here neither to drag you back, bother, nor distract you.”

“But you _are_ bothering me,” Ben grumbled.

Rose hummed as if she agreed but ultimately didn’t care.

They sat in silence, Rose whistling a tuneless song as they both glanced up a mostly revealed moon, save for a very small crescent towards its left end.

“So the Oracle said you should have mated with Hux, huh?”

Ben shook his head. “Please do not remind me. I’m disgusted enough as it is. I mean…it wouldn’t have been horrible, just. It’s _Hux_.”

Again, she hummed her agreement and continued to whistle her song. Another pause. “I fell in love with Hux at a tip-yip naming service. You know what a tip-yip is?”

“A chicken,” he huffed.

“Right. A chicken. There is a tribe of Ewok that worships them, and it can get really weird because the tip-yips are as big as the Ewoks but—that’s beside the point. Hux is brash, arrogant, I don’t know why he ended up being the one. You know, for me? It was like training a cow to hop like a kangaroo. But he got it, how to be soft, have empathy. And now he is a part of my life. Stupid son of a bitch,” she muttered. “Yet. Soon, I will have to stop wanting.”

“How do you suddenly stop wanting someone?”

Rose grunted. “I didn’t say I would have to stop wanting him. That’s—I think that’s impossible, Ben. He is my heart. I could no sooner dig it out and start over than stop wanting him. But our union will cause a lot of people to be upset. I know he knows, and he knows I know, and we’ve been truthful with each other about what our future isn’t going to look like.”

Along the base of the statue was a pile of loose rocks. Ben picked one up and pitched it into the open field. “I’m glad you guys can be so honest with each other.” He threw another one. “Even though your situation sucks, it still must be nice. To be able to bare your soul and be understanding and all that shit.”

“Oh, the logic of it all pisses me the fuck off. I hate the fact that I have to understand this shit. That I have to sacrifice so his guardian doesn’t wage war with Mandalore. But the logic of it all is…just maturity. It matters but it doesn’t. It’s the respect and love I have for Hux that makes this thing bearable. It’s the way he smiles at me, or the way it takes him days to get a joke. Or how I know in my heart he _would_ let war happen to have me. But it’s the emotions, Ben. They carry people. When it comes to relationships… _mates_ ,” she emphasized,” you can logic and understand each other to death. You connect, however, because of what you feel.”

Ben sighed. “I know what you are trying to do.”

Rose laughed. “You have no idea what I’m trying to do. I don’t even know what I’m trying to do.” She reached down and picked up a loose rock from the same pile as Ben’s and pitched it, the rock disappearing into the tall grass. “When I got here, I got a chance to connect with some old friends. You met Beckles?”

“I _experienced_ Beckles.”

Rose laughed. “Yeah. She’ll talk your head off. My sister was never a true Takodonian. She had too much Mandalore, too much Hays Minor, in her heart so the secrets…they never sunk in.” She craned her head to look at him. “Do you want to know what I learned?”

Ben grumbled. “Well, I already know about Rey abandoning womanhood for a few years, and I know that she loves the color green and that she beat Raysu Beldar four times in foot races and I knew—"

“The entire village knew Rey was an Omega? She has no clue they know. It’s one of those great village secrets that only those who were born and raised here know and get.”

Ben glanced at her sharply, surprised. “I talked to almost _every_ villager in Takodana. They mentioned nothing about it!”

“Why in the hell would they tell you?”

Ben didn’t know why that mattered. “They just handed that information over to you just like that?”

“Hell, no. But as we’ve discussed over the years, I’m smarter than you. I also listen better than you. ‘Rey was always a special child,’ Beckles said. ‘We always made sure to let her know she was important, just as she was,’ Beckles said. ‘We keep the secrets of those we love. It’s the Takodana way,’ Beckles said. Apparently, the town discovered it the night the First Order attacked Rey when she was a young woman. ‘The night we knew she was different…special,’ Beckles said.”

“A village of liars,” Ben muttered.

“They also said,” Rose said, continuing on like she didn’t hear him, “that Rey was the best leader they’d ever had, a combination of her father’s kindness and her mother’s uniqueness, her sister’s prowess. She cared for the villagers as her great grandfather Obi-Wan had and she was good with coin like her grandmother, Satine. The success in the village was phenomenal, apparently–like a golden age in Takodana.”

Ben stiffened, turned away. Part of the darkness eating at him had helped him craft this alter ego evil persona of Rey he knew didn’t exist. Hearing the praises lauded on her chipped away at the block of ice feeding his bad thoughts.

“Ben, can I ask you a question?”

“You’re going to ask me regardless, so go ahead.”

She picked up another rock, this time tossing it up and over Bastila’s head. “If you’d _never_ discovered this, withstanding this war, withstanding the horrors that are to come. If none of that mattered. If you were just a man and she was just a woman…do you think you would have been happy being mated to Rey?”

The question actually startled him, but his posture stayed rigid, unmoving. In the tumult of his emotions, he’d never thought to ask himself that question.

“To me, as gargantuan of a lie as it may seem to you, there seems to be very valid reasons why Rey did what she did. She wasn’t lying for the hell of it. And also, going by Siv’s summary of the speech you gave in the forest, it sounded like you were willing to do _whatever_ it took to make sure the union between the two of you was successful. And also—to me—if one lie, one small lie that kept Rey alive this long, long enough to meet you, was enough for you to abandon her, I can’t see how your mating would have lasted anyways.”

“You don’t understand, Rose. Let’s say I accepted it. Let’s say I got over it. The title Supreme Alpha is bigger than just me. It’s the entire clan collective. A clan collective that has rules and might find out.”

“Oh, ho! And here I thought I was talking to the most powerful shifter in all of Core! Fuck the elders and the councils and the mothers of this and the sons of that. It is _just_ you because you have the power, the intelligence, the means to protect her. Think about it. Rey was resourceful enough, worthy enough to be chosen and mated, as she was, to a shifter as powerful and influential as you. That’s fate, Ben.”

“I never thought of that,” Ben said quietly.

“Yes, you did. But you’re thinking too much. This situation doesn’t call for logic. It calls for emotion.” Rose stood up and dusted her hands off. “Emotions are what make bonds…well bonds. You’re going to win this, not by fighting what you can’t control, but saving what you love. It’s okay to be happy, Ben. It’s okay to be selfish. ”

This place had always been her home. It had always been her home, even when she had to give it up, even when Takodana found themselves a new Alpha and they moved in. She would still pass by it, standing just shy of the steps and go, “This is my home. This is the home of Obi-Wan and Satine, Brenton and Reyn.” Everything Rey was, everything she couldn’t be to the outside world, she could be here. Sheltered from expectations and designations and the disappointment she found in herself and caused in others.

But sometimes it wasn’t enough.

Rey sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the ceiling of her home, so vastly different from her suite in the Imperial Fortress. She felt…well she tried not to feel anything other than tactile sensations— the feeling of the sheets under her body, scents of clary sage and cedar, so comfortable and familiar to her. The only pervasive thing was the headiness of her own scent. No amount of incense could mask that.

That hadn’t been the plan. When she’d returned to the Fortress after her…kidnapping, Finn had examined her. Then told her the jerry-made suppressant was running thin and the poison was winning. Rey already knew that. She could feel the difference. The withdrawal of it made her light-headed. By the time she woke up the next morning it would be gone.

Finn’s plan had been that when things settled down they would travel back to Takodana and re-up on her medication.

That was not _Rey’s_ plan. The original one. In response, she smiled and shook his head. Opened her hand and showed Finn Kylo’s gift.

_“No more suppressants, Finn. No more sneaking, no more having your mother and Poe lie for me. I can fix this. Soon, it’ll all be over.”_

That’s where the wearable _olfa_ came from—Finn was a genius. It was small and portable, the phial strung through a chain so she could wear it around her neck, near her two strongest glands. That would give her enough time to work out how to tell Ben.

That _had_ been the plan. She’d never expected Ben to barge into her room that night. She never expected to confess to him how she felt, the apology that was spontaneous, but sincere. She never expected Ben’s gift—the rings. She never expected passion to erupt between them.

She’d never expected the next day to be a whirlwind, the opposite end of an emotional spectrum. She never expected to find herself in Takodana, like this, her life just barely saved. She never expected that she’d want to tell Ben the truth so badly.

Honey green eyes flicked up to the small table against her bedroom wall. On top of it was a satchel, holding her savior medication.

What good would it do now?

There was a knock at the door and Finn poked his head in. “How are you?”

Rey chuckled, but it sounded so lifeless that she winced. “That’s the fifth time you’ve asked me in the last ten minutes. The tenth time Rose has asked. I’m _fine_.”

Finn’s lips twisted at Rey’s admission before he stepped into the room. He made his way to the bed and took a seat beside her. “I couldn’t sleep. Poe’s whining is driving me crazy.”

“I’m sorry,” Rey said quietly.

Finn snorted. “An apology won’t save my ear drums. He’ll stop feeling sorry for himself and quiet down. He and Ben have been friends for decades. They’ll make it through this.” Finn leaned back on his hands and craned his head towards her. “Thank you, Rey.”

It was Rey’s turn to snort. “For what? Ruining your life? Poe’s life? Dragging the both of you down with me? Don’t thank me for that.”

Finn was quiet for a moment, Rey’s proclamation going unanswered, before he stood up right in front of her. Rey craned her head back and gasped at the look on his face, the kind of raw sincerity that Finn only showed when the façade of his composure was useless. “You’re my best friend, Peanut. Really, the only friend I’ve got. I know everyone knows me, but you? You’re my _best_ friend and I don’t—I can’t take that lightly. Everything I did, I did because I love you, and I believe in you. Damn what anybody else has to say. _You are my best friend_ and if I had to lie again, I would without any hesitation. So, it’s me who should be saying I’m sorry because this wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t risked everything to come help me look for my mother."

“Which turned out to be a trap for me,” Rey replied sourly.

“So what? She’s alive. Alive! And I know she’s alive because I looked at her and I touched and hugged her. I even yelled at her!” he said with a laugh. “She is alive because of _you_. Because you helped me. She’s the toughest, bravest woman I know, and I will find her and I will bring her home. So, yes, I’m sorry.” Finn rushed forward and threw his arms around Rey’s neck. “I’m so sorry, Rey,” he whispered.

Rey knew his apology stretched to more than getting roughed up today. She knew that tomorrow they would be returning to Core and Rey’s life would change, quite possibly for the worst. So she soaked up Finn’s comfort for as long as he would give it to her but even with his warmth, it didn’t stop the tears that stung her eyes, the half sob that escaped her throat. When Finn pulled back, he saw it. Her desolation. Her despair.

“I don’t care about being an Alpha of Core. I don’t care. I never did. It was so dangerous and so exhaustive. But I cared…I _care_ about him, I do. That man—he is so good. You have no idea. And…I’m going to lose him.” Rey bent forward as the sobs overcame her, overwhelmed her. “I’m going to lose him, Finn.”

Finn sat down, pulled Rey close, whispering reassuring nothings across her brow. He rocked her, and let her stay there…. until she was out of tears.

Finn was the first person Ben saw when he finally found Rey’s house out of this confusing hellhole Takodana called a village. The Kenobi household wasn’t a house of grandeur or importance like the other Alphas homes he’d seen. It wasn’t in a special location; it didn’t have any special appeal. It looked like any other house. Hell, it might have looked worse.

The door opened up when he knocked and Finn stood there, like a silent sentinel. He hadn’t expected Finn to look apologetic for his part in Rey’s charade, but beneath the veneer of protectiveness and stubbornness, Ben could see it. The hint of remorse in his eyes.

He turned away from it, his gaze landing on Rey’s front porch.

A vision of a younger Rey, lost in her sorrow, despondent as she stood on this very porch, came to him. In front of her were three others, young but still older than her. In their hands were gifts from their clans, a way to welcome her into the fold of Core Alphas. There would be much more. Tours of their respective clans, introductions to councils, crash courses on the finer details of each culture. But for now, just simple gifts.

Ben remembered her looking beautiful despite her red, swollen eyes, and her sullen expression. That despite the horrors of the previous night, she’d accepted her role standing tall and her head held high. Too young to be thrust into their world. Too young to have to navigate the treacherous waters of leadership without a guiding hand. If he had the time, if they…somehow could become friends, he could teach her. How to recognize doublespeak and suggestive manipulation disguised as compliments and advice. But for now, she was on her own. Yet there she was, in full knowledge of that, and still claiming her newfound destiny. He remembered admiring the young Alpha for that.

“How is she?” Ben said, his voice low, finally looking back at the Omega guarding the door.

“Miserable.”

Ah,” he scuffed his feet on the door mat. “I—I can come back in the morning,” he said for lack of better words.

“No,” Finn said. “This needs to be answered and known now.”

“What does?”

“When we return to Core…are you going to throw her aside?”

Ben poked his tongue into his cheek and craned his head back. The awning needed repair. So much of this house was broken. “Can I see her?” he said instead.

Finn sighed loudly before taking a step back and letting him into the house. “She’s in that first bedroom. The only one down that hallway.”

Ben nodded his thanks—for entry, for Finn’s patience—before making the short walk into the house and down the hallway, squeezing by a screen divider. On the door was a little plaque made of wood, hammered to the door that read “Rey; Our Sunshiny Tashflower.” He raised his hand to knock but decided against it. If Rey knew it was him, she’d probably lock the door, maybe in anger, maybe in fear.

He pushed the door open without invitation. The room was dark, illuminated only by a small lantern and a stream of moonlight casting through the window. He could just make out her figure on the bed. She was on her back, hands threaded over her eyes, body still, although she stirred when the door opened, the thick wood creaking along on old rusty hinges.

Her head fell to the side, her eyes puffy and red, reminiscent of his vision of her younger self. But she said nothing.

Ben filled the tense silence by walking deeper into the room, taking his time to look around the room Rey spent so much of her time in. On the wall was a beautiful embroidered map of Core, a rainbow of colors and textures, making up the land they lived in and ruled over. On a hodge–podge shelf in the corner were a set of figurines, carved out of bright cedar wood and dipped in a wine mixture to give it a shiny pale red finish. One was carved to show a young family. Center of the figurine was a tall man, his head held high and a small smile cornered on his lips. His arms were wrapped around the waist of a woman almost as tall as him with hair in a single braid that almost swept the floor. She had very kind eyes, but the curl of her smile was sardonic, like she knew more than she could ever say. To the man’s right was a young woman, tall, lanky, her head leaned against the woman’s shoulder. In the center was a toddler with freckles, a toothy grin and wide eyes.

“Your family,” Ben asked as he picked up the figurine.

Rey continued her silence but out of the corner of his eyes, saw her sit up in the bed. “This is where you grew up, huh? I’ve never seen the inside of it. Once from the outside, right before they ushered off to the meeting hall the day you ascended.”

Rey stood from the bed, completely and utterly quiet, and moved across the room, taking a seat at the table. She didn’t acknowledge anything he said, simply crossed her arms on the table and hid her face.

“I remember,” Ben chuckled, “this guy in Alderaan named Triton. Triton _hated_ Takodana. We never knew why. He grumbled in meetings, cursed under his breath whenever your village was brought up. He did it for years, from the time I was a teenager, until I was Alpha. Then I found out. Poor bastard got drunk and spilled everything. When he was a young man he’d fancied your mother–Reyn?–and had moved both sky and earth in preparation to ask her to be his mate. Only to find out that she had already staked her claim with your father. It was funny because he was sitting beside his own mate and—"

“Ben,” Rey called out, her words mumbled from between her arms. “Don’t do this.”

Ben turned around. “What am I doing?”

“This,” she stressed as she raised her head to look at him, eyes painfully swollen. “I don’t,” she sighed. “Don’t deflect by acting as if you care. Is it part of your training or something? A thing noble blood shifters do? Civility above all else? It’s unnecessary. Just…tell me what you’re going to do, but tell me now, tell me right here. If we don’t mate, we die. I don’t want you to die. So, if the only way to prevent that is to kill me, then do it. Tonight…” she pressed the back of her hand to her eyes. “I want to die here, on the same lands my father and my sister lived and died on.” She let a whoosh of air go, her shoulder deflating before she laid her head back down.

Ben tilted his head. “What was your father like?”

Rey raised her head again, her face a wash of angry disbelief. “What in the fuck does that have to do with anything? Stop wasting my time! Why do you want to know something so stupid?”

“Because I didn’t have one!” he yelled, losing a bit of his composure.

Rey stared at him, unmoving.

“I had a monster who used to beat me because he felt like it. I had to walk around Alderaan, bruised, mortified because everyone knew, and no one ever did anything about it. And a father who had to ignore me, ignore my pain, so we all could live past Snoke’s treachery.” Ben’s fist clenched at his sides. “So, humor me, Rey Kenobi. Tell me what it was like to have a father who would do anything for his child, _anything_ , because I know it is the only way this could have worked. The love of your father.”

Rey glared at him, still silent, but Ben wasn’t going to back down from her cold gaze. Eventually, Rey sighed, deflating. Her eyes fluttered up to Ben then past him. Ben followed her line of sight…to the figurine.

“I was sixteen when I went into my first heat. It was a few weeks after my Coming of Age ceremony where the entire village had celebrated…for _days_. That’s how big of a deal it was. That’s how important it was to declare to the world—to the First Order—that I was an Alpha. That Coriander had named me her heir. The Kenobi line is historically Alpha. Alpha leaders producing Alpha children. I was raised by a family of Alphas, trained as one, taught to lead as one, celebrated as one. So that’s what I was until my body told my family that I wasn’t.

“I didn’t understand what a heat was, let alone what to expect with my first one. It was hard. My body was changing, and I was so scared.” Rey paused and reached for her satchel. She withdrew a small round dark ball, staring at it for a few moments before placing it down.

“I was terribly sick. The pain was unbearable. They thought I was going to die. My father had Maz tend to me through it and Maz suggested a suppressant to help alleviate some of the symptoms. But it worked _too_ well. It not only eased the symptoms of my first heat, but it suppressed my scent…changed it. My father made the decision that night. To hide it, keep it a secret, raise me as everyone knew—as an Alpha. Not because of pride or power…but because he knew that the First Order would never accept me as Coriander’s heir any other way. I don’t know how they found out. I’m still on the suppressant, as you can tell. Lessens the effects of my heart to almost nothing. I’m not even sure I still have one.”

“So all of that about paying off a debt?”

Rey nodded. “That was true. I paid it off. But it was years after they’d murdered my father and sister for trying to protect me and my secret. I didn’t learn the truth until their 20th death anniversary. Tionne told me.”

Ben walked to the table, standing across from her. “Explains why you panicked when you were called to be Alpha Prime.”

“You understand now when I told you it was impossible, I meant it.”

“Yet, it still happened,” Ben couldn’t help saying. “ _We_ still happened. In more ways than one.”

Rey made a noise of disgust in the back of her throat. “That was a mistake.”

“Wow.” Ben’s lip curled. Anger was an easier way to deal with that blow than recognizing how his heart clenched painfully. “That bad, huh? Even after all this time, you still think that. _Wow_. Glad to know you’d rather die than—wow. Stars.”

“What? No, that’s not—” Rey sighed like Ben was physically causing her pain. “Ben,” she groaned. “For once, take your ass off your own shoulders and try to understand what I am saying instead of looking for something in my words that is going to hurt your high and mighty feelings! You keep saying you care about me, but you try awfully hard to misunderstand me!”

The _nerve_ of this woman. This infuriating woman! “You ever consider that’s because you never let me in?” Ben snarled back. “You ever considered that if you told me, just trusted me enough to tell me—"

“If I’ve told you?” Rey threw her head back. And her laughter was dark, and derisive, and it hurt. “You, the paradigm of reasonable reactions! You! Do I have to remind you what you did the very first night we were together?”

“You said you—” His brows furrowed. His frown deepened. “You still haven’t forgiven me for that?” he yelled.

“You’re still doing it,” she hissed out between clenched teeth. “See. This is how you react. This is what I was supposed to have faith in.”

Ben chuckled, the sound devoid of humor. “There is no way you ever cared about me. Not even a little bit. You lived thinking you could trust only so few people and I was never one of them. I practically _prostrated_ myself for you and—nothing. It meant nothing.”

“I _care_ , Ben. I do.”

“I would appreciate it if you would find it in your heart to stop telling me lies, already.”

“I’m not lying,” she whispered, shoulder deflating. “I didn’t think I deserved to be with you,” she admitted. “I was committed to being alone. Forever. If that is what it took for me to live and to serve Takodana to my fullest, I would have accepted it. Then the Blood Moon tells me I’m fated to someone else. And that someone else is you? You! Do you have any idea the effect you have—” Rey snarled, frustrated. “I am not used to this. Someone looking out for me without reason. You had no reason and I did not think I deserved it. But then one day I realized I did. I did deserve you and I started to think I could have…”

Ben took a step closer, his eyes searching. “Could have what?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Rey said taking a step back, arms folded across her chest. “None of this matters. Make your decision. What are you going to do? I just want to know when I’m going to die.”

Ben disregarded Rey’s retreat and took another step closer, ignoring how she smelled different. “I’m not going to kill you, Rey. I can’t. I would _never_ hurt you.”

“Oh please,” she hissed. “Kylo was the only thing keeping you from lobbing my head off just hours ago! I saw him in your eye, Ben. I saw it,” Rey said, her lip curled in a snarl. “Don’t pretend, don’t glass half full this! Think it’ll ruin your reputation or something to have to kill your treacherous mate? Tell them bandits did it, I don’t give a damn! Kill me and go find yourself a real Alpha so the two of you can live in peace and mutual dogged companionship. Maybe it’ll even stop the war!”

“Rey,” Ben said, drawing up as much patience as he could. “I was angry. I deserved to be angry. I deserved to be _that_ angry. But just because I was angry doesn’t mean that I’m going to—"

“I’m not going to live my life mated to someone who doesn’t want to be with me. Someone who doesn’t trust me, can’t trust me. Someone too cowardly to kill me, so he chooses to just settle.” From inside of her satchel, Rey withdrew a dagger, one that Ben recognized from earlier, the one she stabbed into Ogg’s heart. “It’s not that hard. Just do it.”

“Stop it,” Ben said quietly.

“Stop what?” Rey snarled, grabbing Ben’s hand and pointing the dagger at her chest. “You’ve killed someone before, right? Just press forward. The skin is soft. It will yield. It can be so easy! Do it!” When he didn’t move, she bared her teeth, furious. She got in his face. “I’m freeing you, you asshole!”

“From what?” Ben yelled as he slapped the dagger away. “You’re asking me to—from you? Fuck off, Rey!”

“Coward,” Rey hissed staring at the knife on the ground. “You stupid, obnoxious coward. It’s fine I’ll do it myself—"

“I love you, Rey!” he proclaimed, stumbling back.

Rey froze as she bent over to pick up the dagger. Her head snapped towards his, shock written all over her dumb, stupid, beautiful face.

“I _love_ you,” he repeated quietly because she needed to know, because it felt good to say. “I love you so much it makes me stupid. And I hate it because you hurt me! You lied and _hurt_ me and you don’t give a damn that you hurt me and this, this what you’ve done? It is a crime, a crime punishable by death and I’m supposed to be some kind of impartial objective leader, but I can’t do that to you, let that happen to you and damn it! You should have refused!—"

“I did! I tried!” Rey yelled, poking Ben’s chest. “And you hated it so much Kylo attacked me!”

The room fell quiet.

Ben couldn’t be sure who moved first, if they’d moved at all, or if the universe had pushed them towards one another but one moment they were apart, chest heaving as they glared at one another and the next they were together, Ben pressed against her, gathering her as close as humanly possible and Rey was scrambling to get her hands around him. It was desperate. Everything they did was so damn desperate, all clutching and grabbing and squeezing. Rey’s breath caught on a stuttered, sharp gasp as Ben’s hands clenched around her hips. Ben, ever the opportunist, pushed forward, found her lips, kissed her deep and long and poured everything he had into it. He wanted her to feel every bit of it, every bit of him. To know. She had to know. She _had_ to know.

It settled, eventually, at some point and Rey pulled away to kiss his neck, his shoulder, the tip of his chin before nuzzling her way into the warm crevice his shoulder and neck made.

“Why are you so stupid?” Ben whispered into the top of her hair.

“I’m not stupid. You’re stupid,” Rey bit back, childishly.

“Makes sense. Two dumb asses destined to be together. I apologize to Core in advance.”

Rey laugh, an earnest, sweet thing, and it felt like a sonata of good in his ears

He kissed the crown of her head and just breathed her in. He honestly didn’t care if she smelled different. It was her natural smell. He could fall in love with that, too. “Rey?”

She hummed something from her cozy spot, all nonsensical mumbling.

“I know I need to work for your trust. I know that. But with this—your safety? Your life. Can you trust me with that?”

“You still want that?” Rey pulled back and looked up at him. “Truly?”

“I never wanted anything else.”

“Then, let’s do it this way. I’ll trust you if you trust me. Your life and my life. I’ll fix this problem, with this solution _you_ provided me, and then we go from there.”

Ben raised a brow. “I did?”

“Kylo did, but technicalities.” Rey reached for the small brown ball on the table, held it up then popped it in her mouth. It wasn’t until after a few chews that Ben realized it was the medication she talked about.

Ben looked at the entire exchange in silence, wondering what exactly would happen when he smelled it. He smelled Rey’s natural Omega scent not so much dissipate, but mixed with the scent that Ben had grown to love. And it was the most intoxicating thing he’d ever smelled in his life.

“Fixed. New scent, new me,” Rey said quietly.

“You smell…”

Rey’s eyes were pinned to his, and she was hesitant and…

“You smell like…you.”

She bit her lip. “A smell you can be proud of? A mate…you can be proud of?”

Ben grinned, then knocked his forehead against hers. “I’ve always been proud of you, you dummy,” he said softly before kissing Rey lightly across the lips. “I’m sorry.”

Rey returned the grin. “I’m sorry, too.”

Ben gave her a look before pressing back into Rey’s embrace, his lips finding her neck, her pulse, her gland. “You think all of this can be fixed with your sorry ass apology?” he said against her skin.

“No. But I can think of a few ways to make it all up to you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Starting with this…” Rey stopped Ben’s ministrations with a slight prod to his chest. When Ben looked down their rings were cradled in Rey’s hands and there was a look so full of emotion, apprehension, on Rey’s face that Ben felt his heart surge. Quietly, he plucked the rings out of Rey’s hand and turned her hand over so he could slip the wooden ring on. Rey did the same, sliding the ring onto his finger.

“Never take that ring off again,” Rey said quietly.

“Yes, my Omega. My unbelievably strong, fiercely intelligent, wonderfully complex, lovely,” he said, peppering her face with kisses, “wonderful mate.” Ben lowered his hands so he could cradle her face in his hands. “You are wonderful, just as you are. You are worthy, just as you are.”

“Ben,” she sighed.

“My intended mate. The Alpha Prime of Core. Do you remember the question I asked you?”

Rey searched his face for the answer, slightly confused.

“Are you mine, Rey Kenobi?” he whispered.

Rey’s smile was small, but it was absolutely brilliant. “I am. I am yours, Ben. Always.”

They spent the rest of the night, talking amongst each other, all the little things that they’d held back, flowing around the room for the other’s eager ears.

Sometimes before dawn, they fell into Rey’s bed, wrapped up in each other’s arms; their excited babbling from earlier simmering down to quiet sleepy mummers that ghosted over the top of pillows. Rey watched Ben fall asleep, his face softening, his body relaxing. Trusting her. Loving her.

She could look at him forever, but the stirrings of exhaustion caught up to her, and she burrowed into his embrace, smiling when he placed a sleepy kiss on her forehead.

As she fell asleep, right as she danced between the realm of awake and dreams, a small voice in the back of her head giggled.

“Hello, Rey,” the voice said, calm, reassuring, and friendly. “I’ve missed you.”

“ _Kira_ ,” Rey breathed just as she fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we've hit the halfway mark folks. Except for the halfway mark is still uphill >:)


	18. duality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm terrible. I know. I'm going to do better! Like I'm reading you guys comments and I'm squealing to myself LOUDLY and forgetting to reply back and...ugh. Sorry guys. I'm...yeah. I love you all and you COMPLETE ME. MY OTHER HALVES (all of you. We share a body. I'm not a morning person so if someone could take up that task it would be great!) 
> 
> __________________________________________
> 
> Reminder: This one has >a lot< of moving parts. Necessary evil to make the "calamity" I've been talking about a THING; of course questions are always always welcome! 
> 
> Where oh where has our Little Rey gone?

_Two Days Until The Mating Moon_

There was something about a Takodana sunrise that both irritated Finn and filled him with hope and joy and, honestly, it was ridiculous. It was the same blasted sun rising over the same blasted mountains that could be seen from every blasted inch of Core west of the Appenza range. But it, unlike, say the sun rising over the Fortress, invigorated Finn like no other. Another half lie. He was barely awake, reaching into his pants to lazily scratch his leg. Yawning into Poe’s neck, he took another moment to snuggle the big, crying, moping puppy before he decided to go and inquire about the couple. They were staying in Rey’s childhood bedroom, the one she'd chosen to leave upon having the title of Alpha thrust at her.

He paused for a moment at the helm of the kitchen to the nice cute pile of freshly grounded caf beans he’d pulverized last night in all of his nervousness and fear. But no–first, the Dyad, then caf. Wonderful, warm caf.

He wasn’t actually worried. Not anymore. There wasn’t a soul on this hunk of rock who would cause such a spectacle—Ben, a drama queen! Figure that!—over another person, only to appear hours later with their tail tucked between their legs if they weren’t in love with them. Like the till death do you part kind of love. Plus, the night had passed without so much as a scream or a table being thrown against a wall, or worse, a body being dragged out the back door—Ben or Rey’s—so there were only two outcomes. Either Ben strangled Rey very, very quietly or Rey had bludgeon Ben very, very quietly. Both would have Finn backtracking to absolute panic in no time.

Or they made up.

Sighing, he approached Rey’s bedroom door and knocked softly. The truth was they were needed back in Core immediately, regardless of the situation. And if Ben was amenable to keeping Rey in his life, they most certainly needed to come up with a solution, rules, a cover story, _something_ before the Mating Moon.

When he didn’t get an answer to his first knock, Finn tried again, this time, a little harder. The door pushed creaked open, swinging open an inch. He frowned. Did people murder other people with the door locked or unlocked? 

Pushing the door open, Finn peeked his head in. “Rey? Are you awake—”

He rushed to cover his mouth before he yelped, screamed, ran for the hills. 

_This can’t be happening._

Ben had Rey pressed against the wall, just below Rey’s mural of Core. Her legs were wrapped around his waist and Ben’s mouth was firmly attached to Rey’s throat, teeth bared. The noises they were making were _absolutely_ obscene. 

_Well! It looks like they made up!_

Finn was about to back pedal the hell away and give them all the privacy they needed, a prompt return to Core be damned when…

He paused. Sniffed. 

Wait.

He _knew_ that smell. It felt familiar, like an object of virtu from his childhood, one that had stayed in his heart, but shelved away all these years. A sharp floral fragrance, soapy and clean. The exact notes of scent that were always just out of reach.

_Oh my stars._

Finn gasped so hard it hurt.

Two heads, one with black wavy thick hair, and the other, mussed brown locks, turned towards the crack in the door and Finn scrambled out of their view. Not before he got a glimpse of their eyes.

Gold and Silver. 

_Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!_

Finn about-faced with the alacrity of a _runyip_ on fire and ran right into Poe. Standing back, he rubbed his nose and glared up at the other man. 

“How are they,” he asked, looking over Finn’s shoulders, his hands wringing together. “Are they—well I didn’t hear any screaming last night but—I mean once I saw Ben kill a man with a pack of veg-meat, didn’t make a single sound and—”

Finn rolled his eyes, grabbed Poe by his wrist and dragged him away to the other room before his stupid stories let the two inside know that people could _hear_ them. 

“What is your deal?” Poe said as Finn paced back and forth in long strides. “Wait. So…did he really hurt her? I didn’t think he would actually _hurt_ her. No,” he stood, incensed. “No! I will kill him myself—"

“Babe,” Finn said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Please. For two minutes. Shut up.”

Poe opened his mouth, probably to _not_ shut up, and Finn pointed at him, hard. “Not a word. Let me get this out.” Oh, he should have had that caf when he had the chance! “So,” he said sagely, his hands…well he didn’t quite know what to do with his hands. “I went to wake Rey up, right?”

Poe nodded, lips pressed together.

“And she and Ben were...are?…together.” He slowly laced his fingers together in demonstration while staring unblinkingly at Poe. Then he thought about it and unlaced his fingers until his hands were simply pressed against one another. Semantics. Or…yeah.

Poe, bless his heart, caught on a moment later. “Oh. Oh!” Poe said, his frown lifting. “Well…that’s good! That they are,” he cleared his throat, “…together...right?”

“Yes…” Finn nodded. “It is…it’s very good. Bu uh…” Finn stopped to rub the back of his neck. There wasn’t a nice way to explain this, as the whole ordeal was rather complicated but neither he, nor Poe, nor Rey and Ben had time for him to explain it at length. “You remember me telling you about the Savage Moon, right? About Rey’s family?”

Poe’s nod this time was solemn, his head lowering just a bit as if in respect for a family long past. “Yes. It is a very sad story.” He blinked. “But what does that have to do with anything?”

“Getting there.”

“Slowly, might I add.”

“But I’m getting there. Something happened that night. Scared the shit out of me. Rightfully so, I was a kid and—and…well I’ve never seen it happen again until about…say thirty seconds ago? And to be honest I have no freaking idea of what to do.”

“Finn,” Poe said calmly before he stood and gathered Finn’s hands in his. He pressed a kiss to Finn’s knuckles. “Just tell me. You’ve told me everything else. You can trust me with this.”

Finn twisted his lips. Poe was absolutely right. He had kept Rey’s secret until the very end. “Rey’s wolf—” He trailed off as he saw something move just over Poe’s shoulder. He narrowed his eyes, blinked a few times, before the panic set in.

“Are you _kidding_ me, right now?” Finn hissed. “Poe, love, I’ll explain later but we need to, um, hide or —" Finn grabbed Poe’s wrist. He considered the closet but what good would hiding in there be? He flicked to his left. It was dumb, very, very dumb in retrospect, pulling them onto bed and yanking the covers over their heads but it was too late now.

Moments later, the door to their room burst open to heavy panting and moans before the weight of two bodies fell onto the bed. The moans only got louder. And someone’s butt was wiggling near Finn’s leg. He decided to ignore it. It was a sacrifice he was willing to make. Poe on the other hand… 

“Are they—" Poe looked at Finn, his eyes narrowed with the purest sort of indignation the Alpha could drum up on such short notice. “Are they doing what I _think_ they are doing?”

Finn shook his head. “No,: he said simply. “I don’t think they’ve got to the “doing” it part yet, but they are quickly approaching it.”

“No, the hell they aren’t! Not on top of me!” Poe made to grab the edge of their covers. “Ben! Get yer ass—"

Finn reached up and grabbed his hand before he could yank the covers back. “That’s the problem, Poe! That’s not Ben! And that’s not Rey!” 

Poe looked at him like he was crazy, hand still clutching the cover. “What do you mean that’s not—oh. Oh, shit,” Poe gasped, his eyes widening. “Are you _fucking_ kidding me?”

“Wish I was! Whatever happened last night brought Rey’s wolf to the surface. You know as well as I that you won’t be able to handle this reasonably. Not that you handle things reasonably to begin with but as someone who has never ever met Kira—” 

“Oh, give me a damn break, Finn. You met her once! From the other side of a shed. What, you think I don’t remember? Got a set of loose lips on you when drunk, remember?”

“That still trumps you meeting her _never_ ,” he hissed back.

Another high pitched moan—probably Kira—stuck it’s lusty foot right in the middle of their conversation—it was an actual foot and Finn did not want to know what position called for that—and he could see right when Poe snapped. “Well, I don’t care if I didn’t know she existed until a second ago, these two assholes have another thing coming if they think I’m just going to let them fuck each other’s brains out. On top of _me_.”

“Poe.”

It happened quite fast. Poe slammed his eyes shut, threw the covers off of him, dislodged himself from up under whoever's butt had been doing all the wiggling, and turned away the moment his feet hit the ground. Which was fine, the last thing Finn needed was his intended mate being scarred for life. Now, the next part, which also happened really fast, confused Finn but it was not like he had a moment to question Poe on his decision.

There was a bucket of water in the corner, one Finn had requested in the kitchen this morning for a few Plan B’s concoctions he was going to brew just in case Ben turned out to want to dabble in a bit of uxoricide. Poe lifted the bucket, and without any aim whatsoever— because apparently he didn’t think it was necessary, the idiot—tossed it. 

The moaning stopped immediately.

Two of the three shifters were drenched from head to toe. And one of those shifters was Finn. “That was your bright idea?” Finn said lowly as he pushed wet locs off his forehead. 

“I panicked!” Poe fired back, dropping the bucket to the ground and pouting.

“You panicked?” Finn screeched. The dry one—Rey…or better yet, Kira—had moved out of the water’s way, resting demurely at the edge of the bed. Her silver eyes gazed back at Poe, a smirk on her lips.

Kylo, on the other hand, laid on his back, blinking brown eyes. 

“It worked!” Poe exclaimed, pointing at his best friend. He glanced at a set of silver eyes. “Kind of,” he muttered.

“Someone… _anyone_ want to explain to me what’s going on?” Ben said as he sluiced water off his face. “Like why I’m half dressed, or why I’m soaking wet? I’m willing to take any answer you give me.”

Kira decided to provide him with one. She stretched out over him like pulled taffy, pressing herself against the length of him. Ben, understandably shocked, pulled his chin in so he could stare at her. 

“Me and your wolf had a little fun, Ben Ben,” Kira explained, pressing her lips to the underside of his chin. He immediately frowned at the nickname. The other part, not so much. “I wasn’t done with the fun, you know. Your friend over there ruined it.” She sighed. “I missed my Kylo _so_ much.” Again, understandable. Her next actions, in context, were understandable as well, but did she have to do this with them in the room?

Kira’s hands slithered up Ben’s thighs, before she palmed Ben’s still present erection. Ben almost jumped out of his skin and that was quite a feat for someone so large, Finn thought. “Bring him back out, Ben love. I still want to play,” and Finn saw a skilled, unmistakable squeeze, “with him.”

Finn made a noise of disbelief. “I don’t remember you being this…minxy.”

Kira delicately turned her head towards Finn, silver irises glancing him over. “I’ve had a lot of time to myself. Learn my metaphysical body, wants...needs. You know how it gets, right?”

No. Finn did not. Not really. Or whatever a metaphysics was. 

“Finny,” Kira admonished, reached a slim hand towards him. “You do remember how much we used to play, don’t you?” Kira said coquettishly, her nose scrunched up, silver eyes dancing. “I still want to play with Kylo,” she sang while draping herself over Ben. 

Finn’s mouth opened in shock. “Wait–you–I–but—"

Poe turned to Finn, eyes narrowed. “You never told me you and Rey fooled around, Finn.”

Finn rolled his eyes. “I hardly think that’s important right now.”

“Says the guy who had Rey’s tongue down his throat and didn’t tell me!” Poe shot back.

“It was a summer thing! We were bored! And give me a break, will you? I was like…sixteen!”

“Wait,” and Poe’s glare sharpened. “Sixteen. At sixteen, we were togeth—"

“I think,” Finn said, cutting Poe off before he worked himself up into a frenzy, “addressing Kira reemergence two days before the Mating Moon is a bigger issue, don’t you think?”

“So…that’s who this is?” Ben asked, still blinking at the ceiling as Kira’s hands roamed over his body. “How am I supposed to keep up with her at all? It’s like I’m about to be mated to a bag of tricks or something,” he muttered. 

Kira chuckled darkly. “Oh, Ben Ben. I’ve got a few _tricks_ I could show you, as well,” she whispered before nipping his ear. “I’m not sure if you’ll like them. You’re so...ascetic.” Ben’s brow rose at the description of his lifestyle. That was a first. And it was wrong, but wow. “Kylo likes them. That’s all that matters.”

Yes. Kylo. Ben sighed. “This is going to be a long day.”

  
  
  


The difference between Ben and Kylo, and presumably Rey, was that Ben wasn’t as adventurous of a man as someone in his position should be. He liked plans, he thrived on them. Being a tactician had been drilled into him since birth. He didn’t necessarily like surprises.

Kira was a surprise. 

Not that he disliked Kira. She was frolicsome and, _incredibly_ warm natured, like the sands of Tatooine right before the biting cold of night took over. Although she did possess this note of brazenness that, in Rey, translated to audacious self-sacrifice. And honestly? Ben liked her a lot. 

It was just—he just didn’t have the energy for Kira. No one did. Well, one person did. Kylo, who was giggling—yes, giggling—in the back of his mind at anything Kira said or did or when she looked his way or breathed. Her very presence was everything to Kylo and Ben was having a hard time keeping the second hand smile off his face. It had been ages since his wolf had been this ecstatic.

However.

He sighed.

It wasn’t like Kira herself was exhausting. It was what she did. The constant questions, the moving about like she needed to see and touch and feel and taste everything, and the flirting, my gods, the flirting! It flowed from her like churning white rapids and although it seemed Kira had a distinct, insatiable, indefinite longing for Kylo, she did not mind directing that flirtation towards Ben, Finn or even Poe. She’d grabbed a handful of the Mandalorian’s ass earlier while he was preparing the horses and Poe had sputtered himself half mute. It would be funny—hell who was he kidding, it was _hilarious_.

Luckily Phasma, Siv, and Torben had rode with Rose earlier this morning to—well, he didn’t know. Turn the entire Fortress against him if he had decided to punish Rey for her indiscretions? Either way, they were not present for it, and thank the stars, because neither of them would ever live this down if Siv were here to witness this.

Back to Kira. She rode just ahead of Ben, her borrowed horse trotting slowly as she rode him bareback, her body swaying lazily with each trot. She’d fashioned a crown of wildflowers from the field outside of Maz’s shop and it was perched on her head, almost drowning in the waves of her tousled hair. From Rey’s bedroom, she’d found an old shawl, and it was across her shoulders, a pretty lilac color that brought out the richness of Rey’s sunkissed skin. It was...alluring and covetly, Ben had to adjust himself more than once so he didn’t embarrass them all. He remembered her hands all over him, branding him with her touch. 

Was there still a problem? Yes. They were on an open road and Kira was completely, _completely_ naked under the shawl.

“You do know that eventually you will have to put on some clothes. I can’t allow you to enter Core like that,” Ben threw her way. It was better if he didn’t look directly at her.

“Does my nudity make you uncomfortable, Alpha?” Kira asked. It had a teasing bite to it that, if properly examined, almost sounding threatening. She turned and looked at Ben from over her shoulder and he could tell if she was smiling or not.

“I don’t mind it at all, actually,” he was quick to say. “Others may. Others will.”

Kira sniffed. “And why should I care about the opinions of others? My human rules over these lands.”

“No. We lead, Kira. We do not rule. The citizens of Core are not our subjects. They are our clanspeople who depend on us to—”

“Yeah, yeah,” she razzed. “Got it. 

Poe snorted and Ben thought this was a great place to hit him over the head and hide his body. Finn might kill him and it would be an honorable death, bludgeoned to death by an incensed Omega. 

“However, you are my human’s Alpha and, for now, I will do as you say.” She tipped her head, exposing her throat, a sign of submission that almost knocked Ben right off his horse. Rey had a quiet, unrelenting, headstrong defiance, which at first had managed to piss him off in a way he didn’t understand was now very endearing. He respected Rey for her refusal to easily submit to him—if she ever would. However, _however_ , this was refreshing! Something that fed into his hindbrain, the part of him he could never control, the part of him named Kylo who was currently vibrating with pleasure.

“But we aren’t in Core now, are we?" Kira grabbed the lilac shawl, balled it up, and tossed it over her shoulders, the thin fabric breezing through the air until it hit Ben smack dab in the face. 

Nope. He took that back. He would take Rey’s righteous recalcitrance over Kira’s backhanded submission. He would find the time to tell her that… if he didn’t keep getting distracted by the sight of his mate from behind. 

“Shouldn’t we be heading in the opposite direction?” Kira asked, glancing over her shoulder again, but this time past Ben and to the open field behind them. “I know Core must be an absolute hoot, but why settle for bullshit when we could go on an adventure?” 

“Adventure?” Finn echoed quietly, as if he knew what Kira was going to suggest. He would be the one to if it were possible. 

“Dathomir,” Kira said simply. “We’re not just going to let them keep the lizard, are we?”

“The lizard…you mean my mother?” Finn asked, his voice quiet.

“Yes. Maz. I don’t think she deserves to be abandoned to the likes of Dathomirian mages. Oh, it’s alright if it's those Witches of Dathomir—they’d never conceded to evil in the first place. But then there are the Den mages, the Nightsisters, and my best guess is that’s exactly where they’ve taken her. That’s naaasty place,” she said, her eyes glinting red for a fraction of a heartbeat. “Or so I’ve heard from the dark hole I’ve been sequestered in for the last thirty or fourty years.”

“How do you know so much about Dathomir if you’ve been in a deep dark hole for three decades?”

Kira’s answering smile slinked up the side of her face like a vine curling up the side of a building. “Just like Kylo can remember your birth and you can’t.” 

“It’s not that simple, Kira,” Finn cut in. 

“Who said anything about it being simple?” 

“Kira,” Ben admonished. 

“You remember Reyne’s story about the Den. And if you remember her stories, then you can remember why it isn’t safe for us to go back because we want to,” Finn said as he looked back further, his hands tightening around the reins of his horse. “We have to have a plan. We would need help. We can’t just storm in there.”

“We won’t be going at all.”

Three heads whipped towards him. 

“Core,” Finn said, eyes flicking to Poe, who looked just as confused by the statement. “Or...”

“We as in this group and we as in us sending any troops to Dathomir? We cannot risk tarnishing our thin relations with them off the account of a handful of witnesses, me included.”

“So we’re just gonna—”

“Let me finish, High Steward. I wasn’t so consumed by my own...drama that I’d forgotten Maz Kanata had been kidnapped yesterday. With the help of some Takodonians, I have contacted a shifter who would know Maz just as well as Rey and Finn. Someone with enough power to do something about it but who also has very loose ties to Core. Diplomacy in this is of the utmost importance.”

“Someone who knew Maz?” Poe asked from the front of their riding party.

“Yes,” Ben answered, nodding solemnly. “Also someone who has a long standing grudge with the First Order. Hopefully the words I’ve sent him about their abduction of Maz as well as their recent declaration naming him and Maz traitors to Core will make his response quick. The Arctic Wolves are known for their quick reflexes.”

Poe blinked, Finn’s mouth dropped open, confusion evident, but Kira frowned. 

“Julien Kang.” Kira murmured. “Rey just sent word for him to stay away and you invited him in?”

Ben didn’t know that when he sent it. But then again, there was a lot about Rey that he hadn’t known before yesterday. “Then he will have a choice to ignore either Rey or my missive. But if he is anything like the stories I’ve heard, he will want to help.”

Kira’s frown eased into a smile. “I see you two will argue a lot. Comforting. Exciting. But on this, I agree with you, Alpha.” She plucked one of the honeysuckle out of her flower crown and began chewing on it, her gaze locked on the horizon in front of them. “Things are about to get interesting aren’t they?"

  
  
  
  
  
  


Han turned the tap to the well reservoir, watching as the bucket slowly filled with fresh water. For once he was glad for Avaal insistence of bringing their aqueduct system this far out. The arid atmosphere of the drylands that always preceded the sandy hills of this village always made his throat scratchy. Leia often woke up in the middle of the night, her mouth dry. Han had taken to putting a glass of water right by her bedside, so she didn’t have to wander about for relief. 

As the water sloshed around the wooden bucket, slowly, dripping from the tap like sap from a tree, Han glanced back at his large but simple house. He liked living here. It was quiet––for the most part. One of their guards, Jagged Fel, was loud and serious, which Han couldn’t complain too much about. Considering how clamorous the neighboring city Dathomir was, and considering Jagged was from Dathomir, it made perfect sense.

When they’d first moved here, it was Jagged—a non-mage—who gave them a run-down of the entire village. Mthunzi was a sister village to both Ves and Dathomir , an circle of mage and mage adjacent cultures, and while no one really knew what Ves was like, it was a known fact that Mthunzi and Dathomir were nothing alike. Dathomir was loud and colorful and dangerous, Mthunzi was grey and muted and a perfectly safe place to hide. Jagged said he preferred the quietness of Mthunzi to the clamor of Dathomir. There was only so much of that village you could take. 

That was the reason Han settled on this place after he and Leia finally escaped the chase of constant perpetual running—its close connection to Leia’s birthplace. He had been happy to give her that at least. 

Here, in Mthunzi, Leia was known by a different name now—Breha Amidala. It was one she’d adopted as she and Nico wandered around the borders of Core, ducking mage bounty hunters and whoever Snoke had set on her trail. It was part of the reason why it took so long for him to find her after he’d faked his death in Alderaan. From city to city he went, a handkerchief drenched with an altered scent she’d prepared for him, the only thing he had to help identify her with as he went from shifter to person, person to shifter, looking for her. By the time he found her, she’d changed the color of her hair and wore a glamour spell to disguise her face. He hadn’t even recognized her when he’d warily approached the Nal Hutta brothel she was hiding in. 

From there Han sent out word through his connections that an anonymous benefactor would be willing to pay off Leia bounty. The meeting place? A village west of Mthunzi named Singing Mountain, where because of Leia’s lineage, they let her pass. _Several_ golden dragons later, Leia’s bounty was lifted and for the first time in years, the two of them felt safe. Nico still acted as if they were being hunted, but he appreciated her regard from Leia’s safety. 

As if he’d conjured up her name, he heard Nico shout for him from the other side of their house. Nico never shouted, so Han was quick to turn off the tap and hurry to where she was at.

What he found surprised him.

“Julien Akshay?. A little far from Hoth…or,” and Han tilted his head, “the Ison Trade Corridor, if rumor is to be believed.”

The tall Artic Alpha chuckled nervously from his position on his knees, Nico’s blade pressed up against his throat and his arm twisted behind his back. “Well, it may be true I rule in Hoth, but Han, your reputation along the Corellian Spine is unbeatable.”

“What, you mean to tell me they didn’t take it easy on the White Wolf Prince of Moorsh Moraine?” Han said, smile on his lips as he leaned against the side of his house.

“I haven’t been called something so proper outside of the Arctic in ages, and they damn sure weren’t going to call me that in Ison. _White frosty son of a bitch_ has been their go to for the last seventeen months. But if it’s okay with you, Han, I would like to forgo the formalities…” his eyes jutted up towards his captor, “and the knife if possible.”

Han raised a hand and nodded, and Nico moved the knife from his neck but kept his hand twisted behind his back. Julien looked up at her like he was expecting her to release him all together.

“Han said to drop the knife. I did,” Nico said, nonplussed. She tugged his arm further up his back and Julien winced.

“Nico,” Han admonished. 

Rolling her eyes, she complied, releasing the Prince and taking a step back. The look of distrust didn’t leave her eyes. Han was afraid it would never. 

Han rushed forward to help the other Alpha to his feet, but Julien waived it off. “She’s fun,” he deadpanned. 

“She’s…protective. Years on the run will do that to you,” Han said, patting the Beta wolf on the shoulder. “So, kid, what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? I don’t owe any Arctic wolves any money and I can’t help you in Ison—the Gnuda kajidic banned me years ago. And I know this isn’t Core business because well I thought everyone thought I was dead.”

“I’m not everyone, sir. I have and will always have certain interest in the activities of Core. Your disappearance was one of them. Especially considering we are technically family now.”

Han’s eyes narrowed until he understood what Julien meant. “Ah. Nico informed me. As did every market vendor ten miles of Dathomir.”

“Yes. I finally thought after all this time, it was my duty as the brother in law to the Alpha Prime of Core to meet the adoptive father of the Alpha Supreme.”

Han scratched the back of his neck. “In the middle of the night?”

“I could have visited you in the middle of the day.”

“Point taken. Let’s go inside and continue our chat there.”

Julien held his hands up. “No, I wouldn’t want to impose. As you say, it is the middle of the night and the last thing I would want to do is to wake your mate. Plus, the news I’ve come to share would best be told to her from your mouth rather than the mouth of a stranger’s.”

Han brow lifted. “News? So not a friendly visit, eh?”

“We’re friends, right? So, it’s always a friendly visit.” Han rolled his eyes. “I want to say, first off that I understand your decision to not receive much news from Core. You’ve started a new life, one disassociated with the clan.”

“You’re starting off good, kid. But I know there is a but.”

“There is a but,” Julien said, sheepishly. “There have been suspicious things transpiring, deadly things, whispers of war that will embroil all of Core and I cannot ignore it.”

“War? In Core?” Han started, his interest automatically piqued, a habit after a near century of leadership, but in the end, he shook his head. “I _am_ no longer a wolf of Core. Whatever war or talk of war that is happening, I am more than confident our Alpha leaders will be able to handle it. It is not something I can get involved in.”

“I wish you had a choice but I already know what your choice will be.”

Han snorted. “Good night, Prince Julien.” He turned up the stairs, nodding for Nico to follow them. 

“Inaction may cost Leia her freedom…even her life!”

Han froze, he turned slowly, instinct pulling his lips back behind his teeth. “Explain your words,” he snarled.

Julien inhaled a deep breath before he released it sharply through his nose. “Gallius has given Snoke your location.”

“That’s not possible.” He glanced at Nico, who looked just as bewildered. They’d done everything, _everything_ right. There was no way. 

“I’m afraid so. Gallius has known from the very start that you faked your death and it didn’t take him long to have his scouts track you down once you settled here. You absolving Leia’s bounty meant nothing. He used the knowledge of your location to bait Snoke into joining his cause. And with Gallius’ help, Snoke was able to raise Snoke’s son to Alpha of Alderaan.”

Han’s eyes darted back and forth as he thought. “That whelp he would bring around… Dal Konur?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know this?”

Julien smiled. “I told you…I have an interest I need to protect. Namely, my deceased mate’s sister. A promise I instituted is null and void and now the only means I have of watching out for her is to protect Core from those who wish to harm it. By doing that, I fortify her safety..”

“I…I have to tell Leia. I have to tell her now. We have to leave."

“I agree. It would be best to torch this house as well. Her scent pervades it. I will provide you with another place to stay, but it will be temporary. Then we can discuss how to help Ben and—”

“Julien.” Han looked down at his hands, sadly. “I have been powerless to help Ben for a very long time. I’ve tried time and time to protect him from Snoke and—I failed. And now, I am nothing but a wolf with no claim and no territory. How can I be anything but a hindrance to my son?”

“I can tell you exactly how, or rather, Ben told me how. This information may make you uncomfortable, considering the peace you’ve had here..”

Han nodded, slowly, warily. “I am listening.”

“You have to return to Core,” Julien said quickly. “From there both I and Ben will provide you the means and resources you need to challenge Dal’s claim. It is weak, unstable due to his association with Snoke and his lack of experience. I am more than confident you can retake your seat. Easily.”

Han held a hand up. “No. You’re insane. I _faked_ my own death. I abdicated rule to my son. My word will be meaningless in Alderaan.”

“I can’t ask you to trust me now, but believe me when the ethos that “No one is really gone” has been thoroughly put into place for you.”

“This is madness—"

“Very much so, but it is a necessary madness, and a journey you must make,” Julien besought,” however, before we make that journey, there is something very important that needs to be…handled in Dathomir.”

Han sighed. Trust Julien Akshay to show up with a list of demands that would turn his life upside down. “Such as,” he said, flopping down on a log barrier that kept most of the sand off his front porch.

“It’s Maz.”

Something like dread slinked down Han’s spine. “What about her?”

“A First Order mage, likely from the Spiderclan, has kidnapped her. I’m not sure if she or Finn were able to get word to Chewbacca but I’m more than confident he will head straight there.”

“I need to get to him before he gets himself killed,” Han muttered. “That doesn’t change anything. I’m not sending Leia to Dathomir. And,” he whirled around to point a finger up at Julien. “Don’t think about telling her. She loves Maz like a sister. Think of the diplomatic mess we’ll have on our hands when Leia literally tears Dathomir apart. No.”

“She must, Han.”

“Why?” he growled.

“Because without this apocrathist, and without Leia returning to Core, your daughter will die.”

“Jaina?” Han croaked out. Why was this happening? Why was this happening to him? Everyone he loved, every last one of them, were in danger. Fuck. Julien was right. How could he stay uninvolved? “Stay here. Nico, get his horse some water and get ready to leave.”

He turned back towards his house. “Leia needs to hear this from me.”

  
  


_One Day Until the Mating Moon_

“You know she’s still here, right?”

“Oh, is she?” Ben glanced up at the ceiling. “I didn’t even notice the sprawling tashflower mural on my ceiling. Nope. Not even sure how she got up there to be honest. And that hole?” This time Ben glanced at the wall and sighed heavily. “That nutjob took an axe to my…well _our_ bedroom wall.”

Poe peeked deeper into Ben’s suite. Sure enough, there was a very large hole, jagged and sharp, between Ben’s and Rey’s suites. Really, the only thing left from the wall were splinters from chopped wood and the solid stone column that supported the ceiling. “Well, I did tell you she was always handy with a weapon,” Poe murmured.

“Handy my ass! I don’t have time for this! We’ve got a meeting to discuss whatever the hell the First Order is doing recruiting Dathomirian mages. We still haven’t sent representatives out to search for Tionne’s children, and tomorrow, _tomorrow_ , Poe, the Mating Festival starts, bright and fucking early, before the sun is up in the sky and my intended mate’s wolf is out on the bridge meditating about world peace and orgasms! Of course I know she’s still here!”

Poe watched Ben’s anger like it was a half deflated water skin, knowing that with a few more pokes it would be empty. “Yeah. Kind of hard to get around her. She put on clothes, thank the stars, but I don’t know, I think it’s a slip? A very pretty, red, slip that is covering the bits but...barely. New flower crown too. Roses. Fancy. . She’s either freaking everyone out or captivating them.” He looked up to the mural again. “It’s...interesting.”

“She is literally like Bastilla reborn,” Ben groaned as he took a seat on the edge of his bed. “Have we heard back from Julien yet?”

“Briefly. Mageis is receiving your mother’s messages even while unconscious. Paige and Rose have been taking shifts delivering the messages. Last transmission we received stated they’ll reach Dathomir proper by the sunrise. No word on Maz yet, but somehow they’ve found her mate along the way. Supposedly there is someone from the Singing Mountain clan who can help.”

Ben grunted and scratched his chin, thinking. “Speaking of my mother, has anyone tracked down my Snoke’s whereabouts? Dal Konur speaks of him as if he’s in Alderaan still but I hardly believe any Aldera clanspeople would be excited by an extended stay. No one has forgotten what he’s done, what he did. The sooner we track down that son of a snake, the better. I don’t want him anywhere near the Fortress when Leia returns.”

“Snoke? Nope. Evasive like a snake as well. And you’re right. He is not in Alderaan. But I trust our scouts. Every place that we don’t find him in, makes tracking him that much easier.” Poe rattled off his report, then pushed open the door. “Dal Konur,” Poe murmured. He entered the room, closing the door behind him and hopped up on Ben’s study like the piece wasn’t ancient and expensive as all fuck. No matter—it was comfortable, his favorite spot to squat in Ben’s suite. “I don’t trust him. He always seemed nice as a kid, laughing and getting into shit with us, but…nothing, and I repeat, nothing about his childhood would make him anxious to help you. Your mother kicked him out, where he, from his own words, was forced to live in the woods, surviving off nuts and berries and whatever. I don’t—is it wise to trust someone who should, by all accounts, hate your guts?”

“I don’t trust him. His fondness for Snoke, a fondness that makes absolutely no sense, worries me. Snoke treated me like shit, sure, but I wasn’t his kid. Dal was, and—” He shook his head thinking about how many times he had to step in between Dal Konur and Snoke’s fist. “Either way, I can’t bar him from any of our meetings. We can see if we get any intel from the other Alphas arriving for the Mating Moon. See if they have a better read on him.”

“Ah! That reminds me why I came here in the first place. Jyn Erso just arrived. You’ll like her. Mate is pretty cool. Hot headed. And she’s a little…murderous but less murderous than significantly less murderous than Masana Tide, Kayshyyk’s new Apha! She’s on our side so…yeah. You’ll really like her. Masana trained with your grandfather for a while. You know…before he and Padme disappeared. Bonus points, am I right?” Poe said, slapping a knee. “Oh, and Beaumont Kin will be here by nightfall. Which, I guess it would be nice if he could have a sit down with Rey but considering…”

“Yeah,” Ben grunted. “Considering.”

“That leaves Endor’s Alpha. They haven’t chosen anyone to replace Hux, oddly, so we’ll be honored with Rae Sloane’s...guileless personality.”

“I’ve had dinner with her once. She’s lovely, actually. It’s quite refreshing to have someone tell you “You aren’t shit, Ben Solo. Your grandfather would be _horrified_ ,” to your face.”

“Oh. Right. She was your grandfather’s First, wasn’t she?”

“Yep.”

“Which,” Poe cleared his throat. “Ap’lek reported to Finn—like it’s his job to keep track of Fortress rumors— that half the Fortress knows about Kyp and Vaylin and they _damn_ sure know about Rose and Hux after he went all feral in the Healer’s Alcove. Which…um…” Poe scratched his head. “How are you going to handle that? Rae Sloane, stars bless her, will probably see red and let me tell you something. I’ve seen her fight. I forfeit in advance.”

“Wow. You’re so brave, Poe.” To which Poe smiled. And to which Ben threw something at him. Poe couldn’t be sure because he knew to duck ahead of time. “It’s not Sloane we need to worry about. It’s the Valkorion. If this…affair between Hux and Rose is true, as well as the one between Kyp and Vaylin, then that means the alliance between Endor and Zakuul is on fragile ice. That in the end affects us, however, Rae Sloane is a smart wolf. No matter what happens, it’s Rae Sloane’s power that we will need.”

“Without pissing off the Eternal Empire.”

“We’ve never not pissed off the Eternal Empire. They don’t hold us in high regard. Save Vaylin.”

Poe nodded, then stretched. When he was done, he plopped his head on his fist and stared at Ben from across the room. “Enough politicking.” When Ben raised a brow, Poe smiled broadly. “Are you ready? This is your last night as a bachelor.” Poe's smile morphed into a grin, wolfish and roused. “How are you going to spend your last night unmated?”

“Me? What are _you_ going to do?” Ben answered roughly, blushing.

“Me?” he parroted. “’Me’ has been preparing for this for years, Benjamin Solo. An official ceremony to cement what has always been. Only novelty will be the bond. You?” He paused to snicker. “I’ve got a betting pool on just how lovestupid you’re going to get after tomorrow. Stars, if you think Rey has you wrapped around her little finger now, just you wait.”

“Yeah. Good luck to you and your bet. I’ve actually got to get _Rey_ back first, don’t you think?”

  
  
  
  
  


The bridge that stretched across the Dyad Pavilion was lovely, the planks taken from each forest of Core, alternating up and down it, creating a cohesive fusion of their clan collective. Beautiful. Lovely.

Finn would rather be anywhere other than this starblasted bridge right now.

He sat, maybe not patiently, but patiently enough, as Kira mixed some kind of concoction in a bowl—one he was pretty sure didn’t belong to her. He glanced down at her mixture of weeds, wildflowers from the Pavilion, dirt, and water. When she was done, she scooped up a sizable handful and held it up. She stared at him expectantly and Finn blinked at her, confused. Until it hit him what she was planning on doing.

“You’re not touching my face with that.”

Kira curled her fingers towards her palm, and the grayish mud oozed out between her fingers and towards the floor. “Why not?” Kira remarked, innocently. “You should let me. You’re breaking out. You’re breaking out, Finny.”

Finn’s fingers flew to his face, feeling for any bumps. He groaned when he felt one on his chin. Kira nodded and dabbed a mud-covered finger to it. “Wildflower mud helps. Orgasms do, too. Releases all the good stuff into your brain. Or...so I’ve heard. Anyways, let the mud sit.”

Finn tilted his head back. “I’m an apocrathist. I think I can take care of my own blemishes, thank you very much,” he murmured but continued to let Kira work.

“Of _course_ , you can,” Kira placatingly as she smeared more of his concoction onto Finn’s face. “But, love, you shouldn’t have to. Tonight is your last night single—tomorrow you enter the dogged circle of being mating, having someone there with you through heats—”

“He already does that,” Finn deadpanned. 

Kira stared at him flatly. “You’re supposed to be relaxing and being pampered. And besides ignoring your own basic needs, I’m sure you’re not going to follow any other protocols. Have you arranged for Poe to sleep somewhere else tonight?”

Finn snorted. “That’s an antiquated and ridiculous rule.”

“Yes, but so is the idea that a blood red moon has prophesied not only the fate of this clan, but also mine. Either way, it’s the seal to a contract. Take advantage, let these other people do some work for a change.”

“You keep talking around the elephant in the room. Which is you.” Kira sniffed distastefully, nose tilted towards the sky. “And that’s why I’m out here. To talk some sense into you.”

“Ah.” Kira rubbed some more mud down the middle of his forehead, swiping it to the tip of his nose. “You’re wondering why I’m still here.”

“I have every right to wonder! Look,” he sighed. “I know…it has been a while since you’ve been to the surface, but your timing is terrible. The Mating Bond cannot be done incorrectly. If you don’t leave, then Ben either has to forfeit the prophecy, which means they _both_ die,” Finn stressed, “or he bonds to you and Rey dies…”

Kira looked at him long and hard. Then her face transformed, that something earlier that was ephemeral, quick, lingered this time. Her eyes darkened to a deep blood red and it was unnerving. “That isn’t my problem,” Kira hissed. Then the look passed, her eyes returned to their light honey green hue and she took a handful of mud and patted it across her face with no rhyme or reason other than to coat as much skin as possible.

Finn grabbed Kira’s wrist, snatched it away from her face. “It is your problem.” Kira starred down at his hand like she was contemplating gnawing it off. “That’s my best friend you’ve got held hostage in there. You’re not going to punish her for pushing you away so that the both of you could survive,” he growled.

Again, Kira stared at him, and the weight of her stare had this weight to it. There was always something kind in Rey’s eyes, even when she was angry or sad or exhausted. In Kira’s eyes there was a different spark of energy, colder, detached, vibrant. Without breaking eye contact, Kira pulled Finn’s hand towards her using her captured wrist, which in turn pulled Finn’s forward, close enough that Kira could either kiss the inside of his wrist or sink a canine into a vein. “I never said that I was going to punish her.” 

Finn snatched his hand back and scrambled away. “What are you saying, then?”

“That man in there does not deserve Rey. No one does, not really, not these filthy fucking animals that have denied and abused and oppressed her. Made her feel small,” she hissed. “But that is the man she chose and I will honor it because that means I get Kylo.”

“You’re talking in circles.” 

“Unlike Kylo,” she said, without missing a beat, “I have been sitting in a black hole for years, _decades_ , watching everything from afar. No light, no love, scant interaction because other shifters could not scent me. It was hell,” she snarled, lips pulled back over her teeth, the vision of a feral wolf, before she regained her composure. She readjusted her rose crown, trailing muddy fingers over it before looking back at Finn. “Do you honestly think that Rey can bond with Ben without me being at my best?” Kira said, much softer, before resuming her treatment of Finn’s face via wildflower mud. “I needed to breathe and to heal, to feel the sun on my face, to inhale fresh air, to talk and touch other people. It’s so I can be strong for her. So that her bond is strong. If I am weak, so will their pairing. I’m doing what I’m doing for Rey.” 

“Kira,” Finn whispered. 

“Do you know Kylo imprinted on me within seconds of meeting him? He drew a picture of tashflowers in my mind and I’ve loved them ever since. Maybe that’s why Rey hates them? They reminded her of me…” Kira bit her lip, her face stormy and troubled for a moment before it lit back up in a big smile. “Sometimes I could feel him when Rey and Ben were close. He’s really rough around the edges but…he’s really a sweetheart. He was so nice to me. It was nice having someone want me.”

Finn caught Kira’s meaning and frowned sadly. He reached across the space and ran a thumb across Kira’s cheek, clearing away some of the mud. “Rey wanted you, Kira. You just…you emerged at a difficult time for her and then the medication and the First Order. Just know she wanted you, Kira. She always felt like she was missing something without you.”

“I know…” Kira admitted. “I don’t blame her. I blame those who told her she wasn’t good enough. Those who told her that because she was different, she was inferior, an abomination. So, nothing can go wrong. This mating means the world to her and I need for her to succeed in proving them all wrong. To scream out she is worthy of life, that that she is worthy to rule. She is worth everything, every fight, every war.”

Finn grinned at her, lopsided and warm. “You are a wonderful wolf, Kira.”

“Of course, I am,” she said before she stood and walked away. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


There was tense and then there was untenable anxiety.

This was anxiety. This was worry. This was fear. And it was that fear that drove an impromptu, illicit, and hairbrained meeting between the four of them.

Being the heir to the Eternal Empire had put Vaylin in a lot of tough situations, most of them created by her father, as a way to prepare her for her ascension. Or that’s what he said. She was of the belief that her father was a vile, vicious, crazy old man who ambitions far outweighed his love for his children or his wife. It was common gossip that his megalomania and abuse that their mother found the first opportunity she could and fled.

However, all of the ridiculous, dangerous, and malodorous situations her father had devised or unloaded on her had prepared Vaylin to think on her feet. What she’d learn was this—it wasn’t so important how she prepared for situations. It always, always mattered more what decisions she made, what actions she put into place. Knowing that some were undoable, a permanent consequence to her every move. 

Vaylin was damned good at thinking herself out of rooms made of corners.

Except for this. She had _absolutely_ no idea what to do. 

Sitting across from her with his smug, pale, arrogant face tempered by a look of deep contemplation was her intended mate, Armitage Hux, born in Arkanis, former Alpha of Endor, disciple to Rae Sloane. To Hux’s immediate left was Rose, Hays Minor refugee, former First of Mandalorian, and now an integral moving part to the Dyad couples Bonepact. The woman Hux was in love with.

Across from Rose, paying more attention to Vaylin than their issue, was Kyp Durron of Deyer, a crazy, vengeful, son of a bitch who had sticky fingers. And Vaylin loved him with all her heart. 

It was really beautiful when you thought about it. Upclose it was passionate and rebellious. At a distance, it showcased what love should be. A choice. There would be no star-crossed lovers here, come hell or high water. 

It was Hux who had summoned them, a coded missive left under each of their doors—as if there were many at the Fortress who opposed their matings. Most people didn’t give a shit. The relations between Zakuul and Endor were…well, people just learned to stay out of their business. But Rae Sloane, the Rae Sloane, was on her way to this very Fortress and Vaylin may be the one to take up the mighty seat of the Eternal Empire but _stars_ did Rae Sloane scared the shit out of her.

But they had to do this. At sunfall, any standing arrangements would be final, with nothing short of death having the power to break it. 

You could not take it back, you could not change your mind.

“We can elope,” Hux blurted out.

Vaylin turned towards him, slowly. “Sometimes, just sometimes I wonder how one of the most powerful shifters in Core is as dimwitted as you.” Hux did something very uncharacteristic of him, and gave her a stink eye. Which was magnificently immature. “We elope and Zakuul will be breathing down Endor and Mandalore’s neck by twilight tomorrow.”

“It seems that war is the constant here, Vay, not the exception.” Kyp offered.

Silence wrapped around them like a suffocating blanket. _Think Vaylin. Think!_

“What…what about if there was a secondary alliance made between the two of you?” Rose said, drawing her knees into her chest and wrapping her hands around her legs. “Maybe if you agreed to a relationship, albeit platonic and without the mating, Rae Sloane and old man Vit would calm down?”

“Rae Sloane, maybe. She is one of the most level headed people I know. All we’ve ever wanted was to stop the animosity between the two clans. It’s been drilled into my head since I was a child but for the life of me I cannot tell you why our clans hate one another.”

“Tourmaline stones,” Vaylin reminded him, because she didn’t and would never forget. “My father has designs on hoarding every available fuel source because—as he said—he had a vision he would live forever, and Zakuul would need that technology and…” Vaylin broke off, shaking her head. “Either way it’s a stupid thing to go to war over. Nonetheless, a paper alliance will not be as strong as an alliance by marriage. My father will never go for it.”

“Yeah,” Rose said, as if she knew about Vitiate's miasmic temperament, but then again, they probably taught that sort of shit in Mandalorian crèches. “It’s not about what he will go for. He’s not going to go for shit, honestly. If he wants to go to war, he will find _any_ reason but with a secondary alliance, he will be hard pressed to convince other clans to join him.” She leaned forward, put her chin on her knees. Rose was small. On Zakuul, the small ones were…discarded. But Rose was strong, intelligent, courageous, and probably the only shifter in Core who could put up with Hux enough to actually love him. “This will give us some time. It’s not like he’s losing anything. He will gain an alliance with Mandalore and keep his alliance with Endor.”

Vaylin glanced outside at the late afternoon sun. Rose’s had a point, and it was a damned good one. They were running out of time. 

“I—Let’s do it,” Vaylin said, slapping the table. “We will need to summon the Alpha Prime. She oversees all mating documents.”

“I do, don’t I?”

They all jumped out of their skins. To which, the Alpha Prime giggled, almost manically.

“Want to know a secret?” she said, oddly enunciating every word, snapping her tongue against the back of her teeth, a biting end of her sentence. “If you’re going to have a secret meeting, well, it needs to be secret. I stood in this doorway and listened to your mad machinations for a full minute” She waltzed into the room in a dress that could only be described as stunning, a deep red almost the same color as spilled blood and _obviously_ held together by magic. Vaylin couldn’t see one string or strap. A sinewy arm rose and fingers trailed fingers along everything in Vaylin’s guest suite. “The least you could do was close the door.”

They were stunned long enough to notice the difference in their leader, a slight difference in the way she smelled, afternote of something heady and sultry, and eyes that glinted silver, but they weren’t so stupid to let suprise prevent them from standing and saluting her. To which, she waved off. 

“Alpha Prime,” Vayling tried, dipping her head. “We were just speaking about you.”

“Yes. I know. I overheard you, remember? Honestly, your Grace,” Rey purred, which was just as shocking as someone actually using any of the put upon titles her father created. “I would expect better from you. However, this is a trying time for everyone. Even I have been…distracted lately.” She shrugged, and graced them all with a smile, a closed mouth smirk that brought attention to her lips, rubbed with something dark and velvety.

“I apologize, Mistress Alpha.”

“Nothing to apologize for, I’m sure. So. What did you need my permission for?” She raised a brow. “Did someone say something about eloping? That would have been an incredibly wise plan,” the Alpha Prime glanced at the candleclock. “Two weeks ago.”

Hux cleared his throat and held out his hands, waving the Alpha Prime’s suggestion off. “No. No, you heard wrong.” Which was funny, because Vaylin knew Rey had heard correctly. The Alpha Prime gave Hux a dry, flat look in return for the lie. “Well, yes, so the issue here.” Hux cleared his throat again and stood with the sort of pomp and circumstance reserved for the mating ceremony tomorrow. Then he abruptly took a knee. “Mistress Alpha, ruler of the domain of Core, revered warrior and—”

“Get on with it Hux,” the Alpha Prime said sweetly. She glanced at the sun visible just over the peak of Appenza. “I don’t have much time. None of us do.”

“Quite well, my lady. As there seems to be a…plethora of information shared in our Alpha leadership meetings, I assume you are aware of the rumors surrounding the…rapport…no. Uh, liaison. Oh, heavens no. My… relationship with Lady Rose? And as well as the—” he paused, and looked over his shoulder at both Vaylin and Kyp.

Kyp snorted. “Might as well.”

“…relationship between Mistress Vaylin and Kyp.”

Rey looked at Hux as if he were telling her the sky was blue. “Rumors,” she said, a brow lifting. “Sure.” 

“Told you the whole fucking Fortress knows,” Kyp muttered.

Hux ignored Kyp and continued forward. Vaylin knew Hux had known Rey far longer than she, but stars and fire below! He was nervous and sweating and fumbling—

Vaylin walked past Hux, stood in front of him, and bowed. “We know that the request we are about to ask of you is unorthodox, and potentially dangerous, and quite unethical considering it’s the day before the Mating Moon, however I would be honored if you would give us the right to mate whoever we please. To free us from our current arrangements. Only you have the power to do so, Mistress Alpha.” Vaylin finished her speech with a hand over his chest and her head bowed.

The Alpha Prime took a step towards Vaylin, slipped a finger under her chin and raised it up. Vaylin tipped her head back and looked into the darkened gaze of wolf, sure footed and completely aware of the power she held. “Are you sure,” she whispered. “Love is worth everything, even war, but you _must_ be sure.”

Vaylin swallowed then nodded. “Yes, Mistress Alpha. I am very, very sure,” she said slowly.

“Good.”

The Alpha Prime took a step back, then a step past her to lower herself onto the low table in the center of their meeting space. “Each of you do what you please. To some, love and devotion are the piddling, negligible emotions of the vapid. Those who say such things deserve death.”

Vaylin looked at her over her shoulder. There _was_ something different. Not bad, not good, just…different. A roar was till a roar despite how it sounded, what sort of fear it invoked. 

“Are you…sure about this?” Hux asked, worry causing a line to form between his brows.

“I’m never sure about much, Armitage. I haven’t had the freedom to consider such things as surety. Ah,” she said, a finger in the air. “There is some sort of paperwork, I assume.”

Vaylin caught Rose’s eye over the Alpha Prime’s shoulder. Of course, there was paperwork and Rey should know that. She would have to produce that paperwork.

The Alpha Prime sighed. “That’s right. It’s locked in the Archives. And I for one am not dealing with Mitaka tonight.” She leaned over and snatched a piece of paper on the study near them, then an inkstone, where she swirled it around lazily until she’d produced enough ink. She wrote some words, brief, only taking a few seconds to scratch out. It didn’t seem like enough but Vaylin was not going to question anything the Alpha Prime did.

When she was done, she glanced at it, shrugged, then bit the end of her thumb with a fang, drawing blood.

“Holy shit, Rey! What are you doing? Blood marks aren’t necessary! They haven’t been done in decades!” Hux exclaimed. 

“I know,” she smiled, traces of blood on her teeth before she licked it away. “But why give them _just_ a signature? No one will question a blood mark in the presence of four witnesses. By denying this, they deny me. And that, loves, is a true cause for war.” 

She then handed the piece of paper to Rose, and sauntered out, not without closing the door behind her.

It was as if everyone had been holding their breath and all released it in one collective exhale.

“I’ve been intimidated by her before, even her smile asks a lot of you, but I’ve never been _scared_ of her,” Kyp whispered.

“Fear is healthy,” Vaylin said for loss of what else to say. “What does the letter say, Rose?”

“I almost don’t want to tell you,” she murmured before tilting her head down to read.

_“I, the Alpha Prime of Core, hereby decree that_ ** _all_** _arranged marriages within our borders must be sanctioned by me. All arranged pairings not sanctioned by me are considered null. A letter of intentions shall be submitted to reinstate them, granted I approve. Thereby, I announced that the betrothals between Armitage Hux of Endor and Vaylin Tirall et Valkorion invalid. They are free to pursue other relations as long as those avenues are cleared with me. And they have been._

__

“Stars,” Rose said. “She really meant it when she said it was worth wars because that letter right there? A war starter.”

“It’s a little dangerous, having her control all the arranged marriages in Core, isn’t it?” Kyp asked.

Hux sighed. “The Gods don’t make mistakes, do they.”

“And we will deal with wars later,” Vaylin said. “Let’s quickly draft up the secondary alliance. “I need to get out of Kyp’s sight soon,” she finished with a smirk. 

The others looked at Vaylin for a long moment before they all fell into laughter. 

That was so much better than eloping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Han: I've got a bad feeling about this  
> Chewie: Please stop saying that. You say it for everything.  
> Han: Have I ever been WRONG?  
> Nico: Not when its a self fulfilling prophecy every time, Han  
> Leia: She's got a point.  
> Han: *grumbles to himself*


	19. six degrees

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost there.

The High Eunuch slithered along Imperial Crait—the middle ring in the three that comprised the Fortress wall. Through one of Imperial Crait’s skylights, he could see the sun heading towards the horizon, the sky the same colors as the flesh of a blood orange. _The Mating Festival has officially started,_ he mused to himself as he pulled the hood of his cloak over his head. Most of his duties would not start until the sun rose again and he was thankful for the fastly approaching cover of night so that he could do his job.

His real job.

Dopheld Mitaka had the story a lot of Omega shifters had—an impoverished youth surviving off scraps in a small settlement along the borders of Ves, near Csilla, that, once upon a time, allowed outsiders in. Mitaka did not remember where he was born. He did not remember his parents, had lost all the tradition and culture that came when one was abandoned young for being a male omega. Somehow he’d ended up in Ves, and Ves being feral, meant that Mitaka was raised feral.

But Mitaka was different from most feral wolves.

What made one feral and non-feral all boiled down to, not having ambition, but where that ambition was aimed. For feral wolves, things like blood and bone, the meat of family and lineage, mattered greatly. For Mitaka, it was escape. He would often visit Alderaan, catching a ride with those who traveled there to barter and sell their crude weapons. He would stay for a day or two and leave with a satchel full of stolen books. He would bide his time, wait a month or two, and return, to a different village, and repeat.

One day he was caught with a book, sticky fingers covering the spine as he tried to stuff it down his pants. He remembered the title as clear as day: “Court Etiquette and the Rules of Servitude.” He _needed_ that book. He would not give it back. He fought and screamed and cried over it.

There were two punishments for outsiders caught stealing in certain villages in Alderaan: lashes or death. They decided to have pity on the poor, underfed, boy Omega. So, they kindly tied him to a post and kindly removed his shirt and kindly stuffed a stick between his teeth so his screams would not disturb too many people.

Mitaka remembered squeezing the pole for dear life, the splinters digging deep into his skin, the stinging anticipation of pain. He clamped his eyes shut so hard he saw stars. 

The lash never came.

“I’ll take responsibility for the boy.”

The voice was deep with a raw quality to it, like stone striking stone. That voice, and the man that owned it, was a thick layer of protection between Mitaka’s back and the stiff leather of the whip.

“Untie him.”

The owner of the bookstore, a Besalisks protested, wide mouth reiterating their village law like it had been chiseled into his heart. He was so angry he shook.

“I know what the fucking law is. Untie him,” the voice growled.

Mitaka didn’t dare open his eyes. The silence in the courtyard was stifling. He could hear the murmurs from the crowd who’d come to watch. Could hear the angry rumblings of those who wanted him punished, the feeble attempts from others to have him set free.

Then there was the sound of coins and jewels hitting the ground, jostling inside of a hide money pouch.

The rope was cut away from his wrists. He was pulled from around the pole. Someone put his shirt back on. Then, and only then, did Mitaka open his eyes.

The man standing above him didn’t have kind eyes but they were honest. 

“Stand up. Pay him what you owe him.” 

Mitaka didn’t hesitate. He dug the first thing he could touch out of the pouch, a rope of 50 bronze dragons, and scuffled over to the owner. He fell to his knees and offered the money as if he were offering the man his life. When he finally dared to look up, the store owner wasn’t glaring at him.

“Han will hear about this, Snoke! You and your bullshit!” the owner huffed before turning on his heels and walking back into his shop. He paused, backtracked and snatched the coins out of the Mitaka’s hands. “I better never see you around here ever again.” 

Mitaka shrank away and bolted out of the village, not even stopping to thank the man.

When he was became a young man, he was given an opportunity a lot of young shifters dreamed of—a court appointment at The Imperial Fortress of Core. He would serve Gungar and Holdo’s retinue as a eunuch. It was a prestigious honor and he could only thank all of his studying and the books he’d stolen to do so. As he was traveling to Core from Ves, he met another man traveling in the opposite direction. 

That meeting would change his life, much like that fateful day in front of the bookstore. 

The meeting was short, just a few minutes.

“Why did you help me? All those years ago?”

“I have an eye for talent. That wasn’t the first time I’d seen you, Dopheld Mitaka. And what I’d seen from you was a raw, untapped power. And beyond that…talent, something truly special. If you’d stayed around….”

Mitaka understood. This man’s generosity was bottomless it seemed. “If you ever need me, please come find me,” Mitaka said just before they parted.

“Oh, trust me, Dopheld. I will.”

  
  
  
  


Mitaka approached a gate door and let himself in. He traveled the ring, half a mile of it, headed for the guest barracks. Once there, he counted the rooms off, stopping when he reached a large door with the fires of Aldera wrapped around the edges of a blade hovering over three snow capped mountains.

After Mitaka knocked, the door opened to Rian Vitt, Dal Konur’s First. He had a sly grin on his face, one that sometimes reminded Mitaka of a sneaky meerkat. 

“Thought you weren’t coming,” Rian Vitt said as he pushed open the door to let the High Eunuch in. 

“Some of us have to work,” he sniffed. “What was so damn important that you had to call me on the night the Mating Moon Festival starts? There are eyes everywhere.” Mitaka looked back where Dal Konur was lounging on a wide wooden chair, his legs dangling over the arms. “And why did you send for me by messenger? That’s why I created a signal. Messengers leave trails.”

“Shut _up_ , already, would you?” Dal Konur drawled. “Come sit down, we need to talk.”

“Obviously,” Mitaka replied. He made his way deeper into Dal Konur’s room and took a seat across from him. “Well, what is it? I don’t have all night.” 

Dal Konur’s eyes turned to Mitaka, a look that edged on hungry, and sparkled with arrogance. Mitaka was instantly reminded why he didn’t like the younger man. He was overconfident, sly, and foolish. He didn’t deserve a great man like Snoke as his father. He should have stayed in the forest with those barbarians. 

After a stretch where Dal Konur did nothing but rearrange himself in his seat for comfort, he eventually reached into his shirt, withdrew a small birchwood container and held it up.

“What’s that?”

“It’s our _first order_ , Mitaka. A gift from Bazine.”

Bazine. Mitaka had spoken to Bazine once, the day the senior member of the First Order was released from her jail cell and allowed to leave. She didn’t say much to him other than to remind him that Snoke would soon send help. Unfortunately that help had been Dal Konur and Rian Vitt. 

“Well, unless that gift is for me you’ve wasted my time, yet again.” Mitaka stood to leave. He should have known better. 

“I mean it _can_ be a gift for you, High Eunuch. You _are_ an Omega, aren’t you?”

Mitaka turned back to the Alderaan Alpha, his face tight with annoyance. “What does that have to do with anything?” he spat.

“It has to do with _everything_. The vast, wonderful, breathtaking things you can do with that beautiful Omega body.” He eyed Mitaka up and down. “That is the point, Mittens.”

The nerve. The gall! Mitaka pulled his robes closer to his body. “Don’t ever call me that. Ever!”

Dal snorted then placed the container on the table. “This is the turning point, the stepping block, the spark that sets this place ablaze.”

Mitaka picked up the container, squinting at it. It seemed normal. He pulled the cork stopper and the pungent smell wafting from inside made him turn his nose away from it. “Blasted stars, that is potent!” He glanced at it once more. “What does it do?”

Dal Konur smirked before reaching over to take the container out of Mitaka’s hand. He could be mistaken, but it felt like Dal’s fingers lingered just a little longer than necessary. “Wrong question. The real question is…” and he leaned closer. “What does it counteract?”

  
  


_Day of the Mating Moon_

  
  


Rey woke as if she’d slept on a cloud. Her body felt euphoric, limber, suffused with warmth. Feelings she couldn’t describe.

She stretched, good and long, humming and groaning because damned it felt good. When she finally opened her eyes, her gaze drifted to the foot of her bed and she was greeted to a scene she’d only heard about in the history annuals.

A wooden slab with an all-white outfit laid carefully on top of it, a large vial and her weapons. The bow and arrow had been oiled and rubbed down so thoroughly the pale wood shined. Her staff had been given the same treatment, and someone had taken the time to reinforce the ends with black metal plating. A very nice upgrade if she’d say so herself.

In a few hours, the first event of the Mating Moon would happen—The Blood Hunt. _This was happening_. This was really, truly happening. She gave herself a long moment to sink into her doubts, let them almost overwhelm her again, before she crawled out, systematically denouncing each one as she climbed higher and higher towards self-assurance.

She deserved this. She deserved Ben. Ben deserved her.

There had been something peaceful about the time she’d taken a step back to the recesses of her mind and let Kira out. She had to stop and take a deep breath, filling her lungs until it hurt before she exhaled. She’d let Kira out. Willingly. Her laugh was loud and consuming and she giggled until tears came. She sat up, hair flying over her shoulder, and laughed some more. Holy stars! Who would have ever thought she would willingly let Kira out? Rey had pushed Kira so far back into her mind, so deep down into the cavern of her soul, that she thought her wolf was lost to her forever.

She wasn’t. She hadn’t. Kira was there! She’d been there all along!

“Rest, Rey. Let me out and rest.”

In the back of her mind, Rey had spent time, unmeasurable time, getting reacquainted with feelings she hadn’t allowed herself in years—the bitter tang of anguish she’d felt over losing her father and sister. The anxiety of having to watch her back day in and day out, the joy and shelter of Finn’s friendship, the warmth of love, _Ben’s_ love. The desolation of never knowing her mother, missing her in precious moments like these.

Rey had been a baby when her mother left. What she knew about her mother, she knew from Coriander and her father. Reyne Kenobi was tall with long flowing hair and when she smiled—here her father’s smile would falter a bit and he would gaze somewhere in the middle distance, as if he were lost in his memory. Then Coriander would take over, telling Rey about their mother’s favorite flower, how she and Father had mated in a field of them.

It was tradition, Kira reminded her as they both swam in the inky blackness of momentary unconsciousness. The Olde Way, The Way of the Daughters of Allya.

It was something that would she remedy—her ignorance of her mother’s ways. She would honor her, honor her father and her sister, who protected her long enough for her to be able to enjoy a day such as this one.

And today was not the day that she needed to fall victim to morose emotions. She needed to get ready. The sun would be up in a couple of hours and she needed to be ready. She wound herself to jump out of bed when the door swung open.

“Rey?”

“Yeah?”

Something like sweet relief washed over Paige’s face. “You’re back! Your eyes! Oh, thank God, you’re back! Do you know how hard it is to lie to everyone? Oh, sweet stars!”

Paige rushed Rey, gathered her up in her arms and swung her around. Rey sputtered as her First continued to swing her in circles until she set her down and recounted everything Rey had missed. 

“Eventful,” she murmured, feeling like she was still missing something. Paige pulled her into the alcove where her vanity was. “On to more important matters. Tonight. Out of the ones that requested, which couples are actually participating?”

“Out of the ten?” Paige licked the end of her finger and held it up. “Let’s see. There is of course Poe and Finn.”

Rey hummed and nodded.

“Hm. Then there is Lady Mi'yaric’s son, Mi’alanu, and the Countess Mirae. Oh! And Black Sun’s Underlord, Jewel, and her third mate—”

Rey turned towards her. “Say what.”

“It’s a very long story. Just know her request to mate with this one is a show of loyalty so I hope no one brings up the very sudden and unfortunate deaths of her previous mates.”

Rey nodded slowly, accepting the small gift of information. “Mi’alanu is from Csilla, right?? What about the Hutt on the other side of Ves?”

“Oh.” Paige's fingers faltered where she was wrapping Rey’s hair up in a tight bun. “His mate ran off last night. There was a hunting party but his intended was long gone.”

Rey’s mouth parted. “Goodness, that’s terrible.”

“Yeah, you should have seen the letter. But that’s what happens when you kidnap people and try to force them into mating bonds! His family is probably hiding him.” She finished with Rey’s hair, admiring the simple hairdo, tweeking and stuffing and pulling until she was satisfied. “Hm…who else. Oh! Hux and Rose, of course. As well as—”

Rey sat up straighter, looked at Paige in the shiny metal reflection disc at her vanity.“Wait, what?”

Paige forged ahead like she hadn’t heard her. “Vaylin of Zakuul and Kyp, Hux’s First.” 

When Rey opened her mouth, confused, ready to protest, to ask a million questions, to tell Finn to come here right now right now _right now_ , Paige held a hand up. “You signed off on it. A whole decree. I believe at least fifty to sixty arranged marriages were rendered null last night.”

“I did?” Rey asked, her brow raised. “I did?” she said, the panic rising in her throat.

“You did. Well. I don’t know your wolf’s name but…she’s responsible. When I asked her why—you know, because decrees like that could start wars, right? She said, “It was the right thing to do.” And who am I to argue with your wolf?”

Rey grimaced. She knew she should have kept _some_ of her cognitive awareness! Kira practically ran when Rey asked her very pointed questions about what she’d done while in place and the explanation she threw over her shoulder sounded so damn fishy! That—that wolf! _Oh, all the blasted stars in the goddamn sky!_

Paige urged her out of her seat and dragged her around the courtesy screen and towards the bend past her bed, but when they got there, Rey grounded to a stop. She raised a finger, pointing just in front of her. “What—what—what the _fuck_.”

“Oh! Your wolf tore down the wall.”

“She tore down the wall.”

“Yep. Tore it right down. Well, more like…took an axe to it. She said, “He promised we’d live together! I am doing this for Kylo!” Ben opted to sleep in Poe’s sitting room last night so he didn’t break the sunfall rule. Oh, you also...” Paige placed her hands on the side of Rey’s head and tipped it back, “painted that.” 

Rey squinted in the low light of the candle lit room. “Flowers.” Rey sighed as she looked at the rose and tashflower mural. “I hate flowers.”

“Subconsciously, you fucking love ‘em.” 

Rey groaned. “How much time do I have until the hunt starts?” 

Paige grinned and moved with a grace and asurredness that led Rey to believe she’d practiced all of this. She went to the foot of the bed, grabbed the vial off the wooden plank and held it up. “As soon as you’re dressed, I’ll accompany you to the Wall of Divine Light so that you may deposit the vial and oil for prayer. Once you’re done there, we can head to the hunting site. Your position is marked with a feral rat.”

A rat. Somewhere on this earth rats were worshiped as gods or something, right? “Good,” Rey said, and reached for her outfit, an all-white cloak and jumper, embroidered with a triskelion across the width of the back in golden, blue and green stitching. Her sigil, in her mate’s colors.

_Her mate_. Tonight, he would truly be her mate. Finally. Rey blushed and ducked her head. 

“I see you’re excited,” Paige said good naturedly. 

“ _Ecstatic_ ,” Rey answered back, grinning. 

  
  
  
  


“I don’t need it,” Ben rumbled, his voice deep. 

His hunting attendant, a young heavily suppressed Omega shifter, frowned, and glanced at the squirrel tail. Her being here was an edict Rey had put into place two days into their leadership, sending their soldiers out in search of abandoned or abused Omegas and freeing them, bringing them to the Fortress, and giving them work to do.

“You don’t need it?” Yerim said. Ben shook his head, trying his hardest not to laugh when she lowered the squirrel tail drenched in Rey’s scent with a defected, confused whine. 

“I thought it was a common thing, my Lord? With political matings?”

Ben inhaled and exhaled sharply out his nose. It _was_ a common thing during political matings—for an Alpha to need a reminder of their mate’s scent. Political matings tended not to be founded on romantic notions.

But Rey and Ben were different. Ben could recall Rey’s scent, her natural and her artificial one, even if he lost the ability to smell. Even Kira’s newer headier scent was burned to Ben’s memory. He didn’t need a reminder. He would be able to find the hare covered in Rey’s scent with no issue at all.

“That’s right. I don’t need it, Yerim.”

In the beginning, the Blood Hunt was the child of the Blood Moon and was normally reserved for The Supreme Alpha and the Alpha Prime, both set at different sides of the forest. With the Blood Moon being so…erratic, it soon became a hunt for the owners of The Fortress. Some years, this led to a successful hunt, and some years it led to the couple almost killing each other. One time it led to a rut and the mating ceremony was…compromised.

This year, the Dyad couple extended the hunt to all of those who had applied and been selected to participate in the Mating Moon Festival in Core. _Politics_.

From his spot on the stretch of flatland that bordered the hunting grounds, Ben could see the faint outline of the other Alphas, stretched out in a wide semicircle, their intended mates on the opposite side. Dawn was approaching but the sun hadn’t crested over the Appenza Peak mountains, and it left the sky a gradient of pinks and purple. 

There was never a winner to the Blood hunt. It was all just to prove an antiquated point. And that point had been lost over the years. But to Ben, it meant one thing. That at least on a physical level, he _knew_ Rey. Tonight, he would prove he knew her mind and her soul.

The deep bellow of a hunting horn reverberated across the sky. “The sun is rising, my Lord,” his attendant said, her voice layered in awe and anticipation. 

“Get ready.” 

“Yes, my Lord.”

“Oh, and Yerim?”

Her eyes were locked on the forest line, but she looked over just as the last note of the horn died off and the first rays of the sun crested over the mountains.

“Don’t call me, Lord.” Ben smiled. “Let’s go.” And together they took off for the forest.

  
  
  
  
  


“High Steward!” Zorii hissed as Finn turned another corner headed for the kitchens, muttering to himself. “You have to get ready! The other Beta and Omegas are already at the Springs!”

“Well, the other Beta and Omegas don’t have Ben Solo and Rey Kenobi to worry about! Let me just check their meal—it has to be perfect, Zorii. Perfect!” he yelled over his shoulder as he approached the door to the kitchen. “If I don’t do it, no one will remember to do it and then their mating day will be a disaster. A disaster!”

“Yes, High Steward. ” Zorii sighed as she followed Finn into the kitchen, “But it is also _your_ mating day!”

Finn stopped in his tracks. Actually, half the kitchen staff stopped in their tracks. Finn waved them back to their duties and turned towards Zorii. “I know. I _know_.”

“Good! Great! Now let me get you to the Springs. You need to be,” and she held up her fingers, “rubbed down with Moon Oil and you need your ,” and she indicated towards his stomach, “baby making suppressant,” which caused Finn to groan. “Then we have to get you dressed and fed and prepared, too!” Zorii took a step closer to him and patted him on the cheek. “You get to be special today too, Finn.” 

“Everyone keeps reminding me. You’re right,” he sighed. Obviously pleased with herself, Zorii wrapped a firm hand around Finn’s wrist, and began pulling him in the opposite direction. But because Finn was strong and stubborn as a bull, she didn’t make it one step before he dug his heels in. 

_Maker help me._ Groaning, she turned around. “High Steward—”

“Just give me f _ive_ minutes…no two! Two minutes to check on their hare soup. There is something that Rey needs in hers.”

Zorii followed him as he ducked into the kitchen, his hands searching for something deep in the pockets of his vest. He approached Dex, the head cook, who was managing most of the food for the banquet. It was neat to have four arms.

“Dex,” Finn called once he was at his side. “Who you got in charge of the Dyad Couples’ meal?”

Dex looked up and searched through the throng of pages and assistant cooks in the kitchen. He placed the pan down so he could point towards the back. “It’s—it’s a new guy. He was an imperial page in Zakuul. Was, anyways. You know the new edict? Lots of new workers called in for this, which is great, but I don’t see him because there are so many of them! Check the storage room. I told him to get the radishes—Oh! There he goes!”

Zorii turned and saw a tall, blond man with a black eye patch approaching them. Over his shoulder was a large burlap sack of what Zorii assumed were radishes. 

“Sol! Sol Rivas! That’s his name! Sol! The High Steward needs your help. When you’re done bring me those radishes,” Dex yelled over the noise in the kitchen before he turned back to his work. 

The young man put the radishes down and saluted. “How can I help you, High Steward?

Finn withdrew his hand from his vest, holding up a brown cylinder that looked like it was made of tree bark. “This is very important. This is for the Alpha Prime’s hare soup. It must, I repeat it _must_ go into her meal exactly one hour before it’s served. Must. And don’t ask what for. Just make sure it gets in there.”

Sol took the container and studied it before placing it down on the Alpha Prime’s tray. “Absolutely. Her food should be done within the hour, so I will personally make sure that it is prepared correctly, my Lord.”

Finn stared at the container for a long moment before he inhaled and exhaled in a huff. “Good. I’m trusting you. There will be a world of trouble for _everyone_ if she does not get that.”

Sol Rivas’s answering grin was slow, inching up on one side of his face like a crack in the foundation. something about it unnerved Zorii. “I understand completely, High Steward,” he said, saluting once again. “She will _definitely_ get what belongs to her.” 

Zorri frowned but this time it was Finn’s hand around Zorii’s wrist as he dragged her from the room. She gave Sol Rivas a leaving glance before he disappeared behind the rapidly closing door.

“What was that?” she asked as they walked through the doors of Finn’s quarters. She quickly moved to gather his things so they could head to the Spring. “And how is it going to help with the Dyad couples mating?”

“It’s going to help”, Finn started as he slipped off his vest and shouldered his way into the thick robe he would wear to the Springs, “by making sure it’s _just_ a mating and nothing else.” With that Finn was heading towards the door and out of it. 

Zorii shrugged and followed him. It wasn’t the first time Finn said something she didn’t understand. 

  
  
  
  
  


_The Mating Moon Festival_

The smell of the festival grounds was aromatic with the smell of anise and lavender. It wafted around the ground in a thick fog, seeping out of large cauldrons filled with the mixture of seed and herb. Durteel Haza found himself sitting on the high rostrum in the center of the festival grounds. Unlike before with the Blood Moon Festival, Durteel Haza took center while Lando, Elder Magistrate of Core, sat to his right. The seats to Durteel Haza’s left were traditionally held by the parents of the Dyad couple, but seeing as no one had seen Leia in decades, Han was presumed dead, and with Rey’s parents gone from this world, the seats were left vacant. 

Durteel watched carefully as people gathered around outside of the red rope to serve as witnesses for the only part of the ceremony they would be allowed to see. Shifters were usually well behaved during the ceremony, reverent even. There were a few in the crowd who were drunk, using the day to celebrate any way they saw fit. But still, Durteel Haza wasn’t worried about the crowds. He wasn’t worried about the liquor and ale being passed around, he even wasn’t worried that it seemed Hux and Vaylin had swapped mates. 

The only thing Durteel Haza worried about was the one secret that he and only a small number of people knew. 

Rey’s true nature. 

Ben had explained it to him ad nauseam, so had Jessika and Kaydel. Then came the visit from Rose, which was really more frightening than enlightening. By the end of that night, Durteel Haza felt as if he had no choice, none whatsoever, than to accept what those around him had already accepted. Rey would stay an “Alpha” and no one, not one soul, was to ever know it was in name only. 

_“Fine_ ,” Durteel Haza thought as he shifted in his seat. He watched distractedly as one of the attendants dutifully fussed over the Dyad Couples’ ritual setting on a raised dais. _I have a duty to honor the prophecy. I have a duty to honor those who I serve._

Which was true. Jessika and Kaydel had only…calibrated the prophecy to begin with. It wasn’t wrong. It was just…very peculiar that the Blood Moon wanted that. However, Durteel Haza’s greatest fear wasn’t that disaster would come—it would definitely come—and Durteel Haza’s greatest fear wasn’t that Ben and Rey’s mating wouldn’t bring peace—it _had_ to. His fear was that their secret would get out and prevent the prophecy from fulfilling itself. People’s anger and bigotry were sometimes stronger than any army. He didn’t want that for his new leaders. 

For that reason, before Rey left to the section of the Springs set aside for Alphas, Durteel Haza sat her down and asked her some very important questions.

“Do you want to have children?”

Rey’s mouth flopped open and close like a fish would. And it would be very funny, if it wasn’t very, very sad. Not all Omegas wanted to have children, no. Those who didn’t, traveled to the other side of Dathomir and found shelter with the Spiderclan witches. But Rey was in a predicament where she _couldn’t_ have children. The success rate of an Alpha carrying a child was low, rare, only a handful occurring in the last few centuries. This was especially true for those with non-mage blood and that counted for a great number of Alphas in Core. Even those Alphas with mage blood had to perform a complicated ceremony and that ceremony had to be approved, documented, and sealed.

Could Rey be the exception? No. As one of the leaders of this clan collective, Rey’s birthing chamber would not be…a private thing. Oh, it was such a nuisance, with the healers and the nurses and the blessings and the nonsense. Yet, there was not a suppressant strong enough to cover Rey’s scent in the moment she gave birth. No medicine, no elixirs, nothing could hide it. The moment she became a mother was the moment the world became aware she was an Omega. 

Eventually Rey replied. “I do,” she admitted softly. 

Durteel Haza’s shoulders slumped.

“But I understand that is not possible. Falling pregnant? Ha,” she said, her eyes bright and damp. “That is something I cannot allow.”

“I’m sorry, Mistress Alpha.”

She snorted. “Maker, don’t call me that! Not while you’re sitting here in your fancy robes and fancy headpiece and my secret in your lap. And what are you sorry for? I’m the one who got me in the mess, and I crawled out of it, just fine. I wouldn’t—I can’t...” She wiped one tear away. “I understand.”

He squeezed her shoulder with the knowledge that his scent would be washed away at the Springs. “Good. Good. Because I want to protect you, Rey.” He reached into his robes and withdrew a rolled piece of parchment. “I will seal this and deliver it to the Archives after I leave here with instructions to have it announced on the festival grounds.”

“Have what announced?”

“That you, as an Alpha, have been found barren. The elixir I had Finn sneak into your soup tonight was not birth control as I’ve told him. It is much stronger than that. After tonight, you truly will not be able to have children, Rey.”

A kaleidoscope of feelings and emotions crossed over Rey’s face.“Will it hurt?” she said, sounding as small as he’d ever heard her. 

Durteel Haza shook his head. “No, my lady. It will not. It will, however, cause you to go into one last heat. A nonproductive one, possibly weakened, but the symptoms will show themselves.”

“Okay,” she said, nodding. He couldn’t decipher the look in her eyes. “I…got it.” She laughed a little, a wet sounding chuckle. “I could always adopt!”

“Yes, Rey. Yes, you can. And thank you.”

A brow rose. “For what?”

“For everything you’ve sacrificed for this clan. If no one has told you thank you, then I will. Sacrifices happened because they are necessary. No one wants to sacrifice, but they find themselves giving things up in spite of. That’s what you did. So, thank you, Alpha Prime. And I’m sorry.”

Durteel Haza sighed and shook his head. Tonight was not the night for worrying! Tonight was a celebration. Maybe one of the last before calamity strikes, so he should enjoy it. When he stood, the crowd quieted to complete silence. 

_It’s time._

“Tonight marks the second Blood Moon Mating Bond ever recorded in Core history. The emergence of the blood moon, the moon that filled us with light as Bastila Shan and Revan led five clans to peace and created Core, foretells the same prophecy. Calamity before peace. Tonight, we honor that bond set before us by that very same moon.”

Lando raised a hand and the drummers situated on a high platform just over the pavilion roof began their song, a tantalizingly slow rhythm that spoke of a thing deeper than lust—a bond that would last forever. As the drums echoed into the night, two sentries ran to the front gate of The Fortress, their hands clutching the golden ring fixed in the snarling wolves’ mouths. With their heels dug into the ground and a mighty heave-ho, the door began to slowly open.

The procession was short, just four couples. They walked through the gate in pairs of two, their wardrobe plain and ceremonial all except for the sigil of their mate’s house roughly drawn across their backs in cinnabar. 

A step behind the procession was Poe, First Captain of the Dyad Couple’s Bonepack, and Finn, the High Steward. They weren’t as solemn looking as the other couples. Finn had slipped his pinky into Poe’s and the former Mandalore Alpha had a goofy smile on his face. As long as those two had been together, this ceremony was just a formality. Hell, he’d be surprised if Poe didn’t take Finn the minute the ceremony was over. Durteel Haza smirked. He couldn’t wait for them to be joined officially—and privately. They deserved it. 

As the five couples took their seats, the drum beat slowed to a broad and even beat, the sound akin to a slow leak at the well. Two rows of pages appeared from inside of The Fortresses’ walls. In their hands were raw wood dipped in tar and pitch, the blazing end lighting up the night sky. They raised them high above their heads, creating a canopy of flames. A sentry at the top of the gate, turned to face the crowd and bellowed out over the festival grounds.

“THE DYAD COUPLE HAS ARRIVED.”

Durteel Haza stepped down from the rostrum and stood just shy of the gate’s entrance. He peered down the orange tinted walkway as the Dyad couple approached. 

They were dressed in all black from head to toe. Rey wore form fitting pants that seemed painted on, tucked inside a shining pair of black leather boots. A black blouse made of the same material as her boots molded to her, while a long sleeveless vest with a hood flowed from her shoulders and down her back, sweeping the floor with every step she took. An embroidered symbol of a flaming sword over a mountain peak was affixed to her sleeves.

Ben was just as beautiful as he’d always been. His hair, now long enough to kiss between his shoulder blades, was plaited to one side. He wore a thick leather band around his neck with a triskelion branded into its surface. The shirt he wore was thin and transparent, and did nothing to hide a wonderfully crafted physique. Loose fitting cotton pants stuffed into leather boots finished the ensemble.

Both were wearing their headdresses, perched on their head as if they were crowns. On their ring fingers were a matching set of wooden rings.

They approached him slowly and Durteel Haza grinned when he caught them stealing glances at each other. He didn’t know what happened in Takodana after he was whisked away just as fast as he was summoned, but it looked like they’d found their peace.

Good.

In their hands was a box, which Durteel Haza accepted gratefully. Before the ceremony, they were required to bathe their bodies in Mint Moon Oil under the strict eye of the ladies who guarded that Wall of Divine Light behind the Moon Mosque. In the box where the crushed remains—half to be thrown into the fire, and the other half to be stored in the vaults inside of the Archives. 

“The ceremony will be sweet and simple,” Durteel Haza said quietly. “The location of your mating has already been set up as well and you will be led there afterwards. Because of Rey’s…situation, olfas will be placed around the perimeter, as well as guards and silencing spells. Everything else has been taken care of.” Durteel Haza leaned in towards the two, mindful of those watching him. “Is there _anything_ else you need to tell me before this gets underway?” he asked, eyeing them.

Rey looked at Ben and Ben looked at her, the two of them having a conversation without words. Eventually, Rey shrugged, and Ben smiled down at her, shaking his head. 

“Nothing, Elder of Delphi. We are ready,” Ben said, his voice strong with confidence. Good. This was good. 

Durteel Haza nodded and turned back towards the festival grounds. “Then let us begin,” he threw over his shoulder. “Your pack is eager for your mating,” he finished with a wide smile. “As am I.”


	20. fire and soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> at last

Roses and fire and crystals.

That was the first thing she noticed as they approached the Trials. She supposed she could be scared, or at the very least annoyed. It came from an ancient way of mating, when everyone was expected to be a warrior.

The Five Trials—The Trial of Skill, the Trial of Courage, the Trial of the Flesh, the Trial of Spirit, and the Trial of Insight—were established as part of the mating ritual in the founding days of Core. Bastila and Revan decided that although love and mutual respect were necessary forces in creating a partnership that would serve to the betterment of Core, having competent leaders was superior demand. Oh, it was beautiful to be chosen by the Gods, but secretly known, passing the trials served as a double check—if you could not, the Oracles misread the prophecy and you and your mate would die.

Easy.

The Trial of Courage could have been ultimately dangerous if, say, they were asked to prove that on the spot. No one was that deranged to have some nefariously complicated gauntlet set up so they could push Rey and Ben through it or have them fight against a rabid rancor all in the name of proof. So, testimony from friends and foes, collected from sources the High Eunuch had summoned, were sent before The High Council of Core and the Grungen—a trio of bloodthirsty warriors who had the final say on the valor of the deposition.

The Trial of the Spirit, too, was collected from testimony, this time from Ben and Rey themselves. Most of these overlapped. Courage often tested the spirit and anyone with a spirit of note would also have a courageous heart.

Jaina and Jacen told the council of Ben helping their mother escape.

Finn, with Rey’s permission, finally revealed the details of the Savage Moon to the rest of the world. 

That alone was enough.

The Trial of Skill—well, that was certainly a foregone conclusion for both of them.

The Trial of Flesh—if they successfully mated, was the penultimate test. Rey really wished that one was about sex. 

Essentially, the trials were useless, a cacophony of tradition and ceremony that served no true purpose but to serve as tradition and ceremony.

However… 

The Trial of Insight. It was harder. While politically sanctioned romances were the norm for the gentry, the heart of their unions were sevitory, cold, and separated from actual human emotion. Sure, political marriages could be warm and full of mutual love and respect and all the sticky stuff that held relationships together, but it was not required.

Any Blood Moon couple had to surpass that. Even if their love tipped towards frostbitten, their connection had to be solid. Two people could not run a clan collective if they themselves couldn’t rule their own relationship with compassion, compromise, and trust.

Rey stepped over the Heart of the Union crystals and everblaze rose petals to stand across from Ben in the center of the fighting ring. In essence, she tried to read what he was thinking, what he was feeling. If he had in the mere day she’d been away and Kira had been in place changed his mind, she could die tonight.

Which…she accepted. Ben had every right to execute her for her crimes against Core. And what better place to do it than before the eyes of their clanspeople? Not blood hidden away in the folds of a story about bandits but blood spilled before the collective as proof.

It would be an honorable death. Despite her wishes to be executed in Takodana, anything would be better than being tossed off the cliffs of Appenza or drowned in the Blood Forged Lake of Mandalore.

But she wanted to see it coming. So, as a page placed her staff in her hand, and as a page placed Light in Ben’s hand, she wondered.

The Baron Elder of Core, Lando, took a step in between them, and began to recite for the thousandth time, Cordia’s Blood Flower. Durteel was a talented Orator and somehow made the poem sound epic and passionate, but Lando made it sound like it was supposed to. Death.

Rey inhaled. Lando stepped away. Rey exhaled.

The last modification of her staff was a small mechanism at the midline, that when pressed, flicked out double blades on the opposite ends, turning it from a weapon that could break, to a weapon that could maim.

The action caused Ben brow to rise. He still hadn’t unsheathed Light but that did not stop him from rushing at her. She blinked out of her momentary confusion and surprise and was just able to raise her staff in enough time to block his first blow.

Shit. She was expecting him to size her up or something, not try to take her head off mere seconds into the Trial.

She looked up at him. There was a fury behind his eyes, mixed with deep seated worry. But he wasn’t close enough for her to read it like she wanted to, need to, him bounding back before she could be sure that’s what she saw. He rolled his neck, rotated his wrist, and this time, brought Light front and center. His other hand he placed behind his back.

Soresu.

Of the seven forms taught in Core, Makashi was one meant to disarm but not harm. Which was sweet, but counterproductive. How could she and she alone read his intent when he displayed it for the world to see?

It was confusing. Alphas protected. He was protecting. But he also needed to attack her. That would be protecting her too, the both of them.

So, she goaded, she answered, she attacked. She swept her staff out, widening her stance as it danced over her head, and came to a standstill at her side. She leaned back into the form and met Ben’s eyes. And she pleaded. _This has to be real, Ben. If I’m to die or to live by your side, this has to be real!_

Ben’s gazed swept up and down her form, as if to acknowledge her switch to Ataru, but that was all she got. He was still so very unreadable. Her next lunge was slower than usual, and Ben lazily parried, swatting her away.

They were testing each other—the point—but it was still irksome. They couldn’t speak to one another, no hand signals, no secrets taps or signs. Just a level of communication only the two of them would understand.

They clashed again, and this time Rey could feel the anger simmering under her skin. Was it directed at her? She decided to figure out, pressing the advantage of the burst of energy she would have to use to sustain Ataru, digging her heels into the ground, and attacking in short, but powerful maneuvers. It was enough to catch him off guard, the acrobatics of the form pushing him back.

But it was over before long. She didn’t have access to the same battle magic Ben did, the energy that could sustain him for lengthy fights. She only had her own body to feed off of and no matter how hard she trained; it would never overcome that. 

She came at him again, a little slower than the previous attack, but she dipped at the last minute, when she knew Ben would lunge instead of parry, and the tip of her blade landed, nicking his upper arm.

Ben paused, his eyes trained on her until the last minute when he looked down at his arm. The laugh he let out was derisive and the look he shot her said, _“You did that on purpose.”_

She actually hadn’t and the fact that he didn’t know that didn’t bode well for them passing this test. Rey contemplated only using one bladed end—two was overkill—and she, like a fool, flicked her eyes down to press the mechanism, when the wind was knocked out of her as he tackled her to the ground.

_“Okay”_ , she thought, as she struggled to inhale, _“he’s finally taking this seriously. Fucking stars.”_

Worry flashed in his eyes for a minute, despite his forearm across her throat.

Rey knew this had to look real, had to feel real. They both had to convince some unseeing, all-knowing judge that they could overcome all obstacles, even when hindered from the sort of communication shifters depended on. 

It was just so damn hard! They’d just got their goddamn feelings situated and now they were supposed to know each other spiritually? Fuck. Fuck.

Yet, Rey was the presumed Alpha Prime of Core, the daughter of Brendol, the sister of Coriander. She was a Kenobi. She hadn’t survived against the First Order with tricks, allusions, and calls to higher power. She survived them by outsmarting them. She could outsmart some invisible, semi present power asking things of them, demanding of them everything they had.

Ben was stalling, taking deep, gulping breaths, as in her scent was calming him, allowing him to think. He knew if he stood up, then they would have to resume fighting. Good. That meant he knew they were not synced yet. She didn’t know what sign to look for. Words in her heads, a precognition of a battle silhouette, fucking sparks that shot out of his head? 

But while he stalled, Rey thought. And she felt. And she compelled her will on the universe.

Step one.

Whatever emotions Ben had for her, whatever protection Kylo would exhibit for her, she would use it. She would tap into that—her feelings for him.

Step two.

She thought of the way he smiled when dueling Poe, she thought of the warm pride he had when Finn showed him his knife work, correcting his stance when he could, but otherwise marveling in his High Eunuch's skill. She thought of the way he used his body as a weapon, how he pushed and pushed and _pushed_ himself, as if he were trying to prove his worth through blood and sweat and tears and pain.

Step three.

She thought of the way he kissed.

The way he loved. The energy of reciprocity. 

Surely…surely…that was enough—

“Ben,” she thought. “Be with me.”

His head snapped towards her. He blinked. “…Rey?”

That worked?

“Yes? Yes!”

“Is this what they meant by sync?”

“Kylo is screaming at me that it is.”

Rey just now noticed Kyra screaming in her head too. Almost drowned out by the rush of her heartbeat but just loud enough to be heard. “Kyra says this connection won’t hold. Not without us bonded.”

Ben nodded firmly, stood, and pulled her to her feet. “Do you remember the Ataru kata?” He unsheathed Light and it drew a few gasps from the crowd.

She had enough energy to roll her eyes. “Babies know the Ataru kata—the moment you take first form, everyone will think they are synced with us. But we need something stronger, fancier. Something with more freedom for improvisation.” She ignored the crowd, looked around, thinking, thinking. “Shien & Djem So.”

Ben’s eyes flicked back and forth as he thought. Then he nodded. “Yes. You want classical or—”

“I’m a feral rat, Ben,” she thought towards him, trying desperately to hide her grin. “Diem So.”

They both dropped into form at the same time, back to back—Ben placing his weight on the leg bent out in front of him, Light held above his head in a double handed hold, while she did the same, her staff pointed towards the ground. And then it was like magic as they completed eight rounds of the kata at half speed, then at Ben’s humored urging, at full speed, their weapons blurring.

Without word or projected thought, they spun towards one another, the collision of their weapons sparking. But it did not stop them, they whirled through a shared kata, almost appearing to duel, although they moved too fluidly together to be considered that. It was more like dancing, covering the floor of the dueling grounds like one would a _Dha Werda Verdaor._

She could feel Ben, feel him, more than just their shared heartbeats, but she felt all the things she could only guess, or he could only offer. 

He lived in the shadow of those who came before him. Han, one of the greatest Alphas Alderaan has ever known. Leia, a shifter powerful enough to bring several men—and clans—to their knees. His grandmother, mystical, magical. His grandfather…

Something like red, something soft and warm, pressed up against her soul. She moved towards it and it burned her. She stepped away and she was cold all over. It was a complicated thing, this feeling towards his grandfather. Rey wanted to know more, feel more, see more. 

But somehow, as if they’d pleased their unseen benefactor, the flames extinguished, filling the air with smoke and the acrid smell of burnt rose petals and the crystals seemed to glow pink. The connection went silent, a hollow echo.

They both stopped. Brought their weapons down, their faces just a breath away from the others. 

Lando stepped up and over into the grounds. “Well,” he said. “That’s a first.”

Rey didn’t know what about it was unique—she’d never seen a Blood Moon duel before. But whatever he’d seen, it was enough for Durteel Haza to turn towards the servants hovering at the Fortress gates. “Bring their meals.”

A scant while later, after the sweat had cooled from their bodies, their weapons put away, they’d been led to the festival grounds, and situated at a raised dais, layers of golden silk and the red petals of Cordia’s Blood Flower covering it. A table sat center with two small ornate pillows on either side of it. On the table were two small covered bowls and two chalices. Five other settings for five other couples were set the same. 

Ben glared at it.

The ceremony—not to be confused with the other million godforsaken ceremonies—began as soon as they took their seats and true to Durteel Haza’s word, it didn’t take long. The Eunuchs prayed over the unions, the shards of glass from their vials were thrown into a fire and a small gift was presented from each village. The bowls were uncovered and revealed to be a thick broth with succulent chunks of hare—a gift from their bounty today. 

Durteel Haza moved in front of the dais and turned to the crowd. But not before he shot Rey a glance, one full of an emotion he couldn’t place. Rey, however, nodded back at him, and straightened, her gaze drifting away from his.

“Shifters of Core. Your attention please.” The crowd, rambunctious as they tucked into their own small, less grander meals outside the red rope, quieted. “Tonight, we honor the Blood Moon and the blood shed to bring Core into existence. Tonight, we celebrate the joining of our Supreme Alpha and Alpha Prime. We all pray for a sacred and fruitful union and must keep praying for the continued survival and betterment of Core. A word of caution as rumors grow.”

Finn glanced back to her out of habit it seemed, as if they were used to having whole conversations with just their eyes, the tilt of their brows, the quirk of their lips. Rey avoided looking at Finn. It was the first time Ben had ever seen this happen. Even that served as some sort of communication to Finn, because he narrowed his eyes, gaze going back and forth between Rey and Durteel Haza. 

“As with all Blood Moon couples, an heir is not a goal of this union.”

Finn froze. Seemed he gathered something from that statement that Ben did not. 

“Their _only_ role is to lead us out of calamity and into prosperity and peace. However, unlike previous Blood Moon couples who chose not to produce offspring, this union is _incapable_ of producing offspring. Although we know that Alpha pairs have the rarest chance to bring forth a child, after a thorough examination of both Alphas, I find that is impossible. Rey is barren.”

Ben would have choked if anything had been in his mouth. 

A murmur rose from the crowd but Lando squashed it with a raised hand. “Now that we’ve got that, at the very least, very unsurprising but unexpected... _informative_ announcement, out of the way, let us welcome this auspicious night with gladness. Our gods have chosen wisely and now we shall celebrate!”

Someone—someone very smart—sent servants out into the crowds with ale and soon the attention was momentarily off of them.

“Rey,” he tried. The news was…news to him. He’d stopped hoping for children the night his name was called to lead Core. Nonetheless, it still hurt, inexplicably, to know he could not bring children into this world with this woman. He knew, instinctively, that this was a decision Rey made without him. And that hurt, too. But Rey knew the dangers far more than he did. Alpha childbearing was...difficult. Alpha childbearing when one was supposed to be an Omega? Impossible. 

Still. It hurt. 

Yet instead of broadcasting that hurt to her, a woman who undoubtedly could have, at some point, bore children, but now could not, he smiled at her, reached across the table and covered her hand with his. He wished more than anything their mental connection had not sputtered off the moment the crystals stopped emitting light.

She startled, slowly turned her heads towards his, her eyes sorrowful and heavy with guilt.

“None of that, sweetheart.” He raised her hand, pressed his knuckles to his lips. “You are perfect, Rey.”

She huffed out a laugh. “I know I’m perfect. If I were _imperfect_ I could give you a child.”

“Who needs cubs anyways,” he tried. “They are stinky, and helpless—”

“And they would have your hair and my eyes and—”

“Rey—"

“Let’s eat, Ben.” She sighed then offered him a lopsided grin. “I’m ready to be alone with you.”

Ben gulped and dropped a spoon into his soup, pleased when her smile blossomed at his first taste. “Yes, my lady Alpha.”

This had to be the longest walk Ben has ever taken in his life. The path seemed longer than usual as they winded through the outer, then inner courtyards. And maybe it was the slow somber steps he had to take, flanked on each side by rows of pages and eunuchs, seeming more like a funeral procession than them leading them to their mating site. It was taking _everything_ in Ben not to call off this foolishness, throw his soon to be mate over his shoulder and run—no, sprint—back to the Dyad Pavilion. 

But he wouldn’t do that. This was a special night, maybe the most important night he and Rey would spend together. 

Officially, and finally, as mates.

After one final cleaning and another rub down of Moon oil, they were as prepared as any for tonight. For his final attire, Ben had chosen customary Alderan robes, fashioned from midnight dragon shifter scales. They were alternative formal battlegear, the high collar and bodice reinforced with durasteel alloy. Where it parted at his knee were black pants and boots, understated against the opulence of his robes, but the perfect pairing otherwise for ease of movement. Was he planning on getting attacked? No. But one could never be too careful. Plus, he felt…good in them—a symbol of his house, often worn when receiving a guest of the highest honor. 

Rey was not a guest, but he would be welcoming her into his clan, and she, into his, and he wanted to show her, even if it was in fabric and design, the level of devotion he would offer her every moment they were together.

They met at the stairs leading into the Dyad Pavilion. Everything blotted out of existence _except_ her. 

He couldn’t be this lucky. He _couldn’t_ be.

Rey appeared with her own set of eunuchs and pages through a door that came from the direction of the Wall of Divine Light. And she was divine.

There was a portrait of his grandmother that no one but his immediate family had access to. She was there, in all of her mysticism and magic, painted across the largest ceiling of their family library. Her dress was gossamer and silk and looked like the sky at sunset.

Rey’s dress was like if dawn and dusk collided with the stars—vivid blood oranges and vibrant purples that transformed into fiery reds and soul-consuming black.

Her arms were bare except for the subtle trailing of fabric. When she turned to tell an attendant something, Ben felt all his blood rush south, and he was faint at the sight of her back. That’s all it took. Skin—her skin—to make Kylo push at the reigns, tempting him with a rut.

He would not. He could control himself. He could, he could, he _could_.

Both retinues came to a complete stop, it took everything in Ben not to break tradition. Honestly, the temptation to steal her away where nothing could ever, ever hurt her was nearly irrepressible.

The anticipation that buzzed under his skin intensified as they walked through the corridor that would lead to the Dyad Pavilion. Through some wonder of magic and power, the ceiling of the Dyan had been rendered transparent, and as they passed through the doors, they were greeted by the night sky, stars twinkling to say _Hello, you have come._ The moon was so incredibly bright, blanketing everything in a diaphanous white light, so pure that everything glowed. This...

_The night the prophecy yearned for._

He still contained his urge to look at her, take his fill, but could not avoid her out of the corner of his eye. She seemed calm, her steps graceful and composed, as if she were made of moonlight. The eunuchs in front of them were taking their time lighting the torches along the inner walls of the Dyad Pavilion marking their path from the bridge to the grotto behind their suite, and heavens above he wanted them to move faster!

Ben felt a growl rise in his throat as the High Eunuch stopped midway past the upper pond to dip his head in prayer, a part of the ceremony Ben wasn’t sure existed. He was sure, however, that the High Eunuch was doing this on purpose to pay him back for how Ben treated him at the Archives. Well, he had another thing coming if he thought Ben was going to allow this utter lack of respect to happen right before him—

There was a warm hand sliding around his wrist. And just like that, his growl quieted, like his inner spirit was guided towards peace with just a touch. Yet, he noticed, belatedly, that the hand wrapped around his wrist was shaking. 

“Are you, okay?” Rey whispered, her voice a shivery thing.

Rey _was_ nervous. Ben could feel it. He could _feel_ it. Now the only thing he wanted to do was wrap himself around her and soothe whatever had her like this. And he was going to do just that. 

_Fuck the ceremony._

He reversed their hands, instead grabbing onto Rey’s wrist. He surged ahead, rushing past the pages and eunuchs, their gasps and cries of surprise as Ben pulled Rey down the path towards the grotto all but ignored. When he whipped past the High Eunuch, he bumped him hard with his shoulder. The Eunuch too caught up in his spontaneous ridiculous prayer, didn’t realize what happened until he splashed, headfirst, into the pond. 

Ben would pause to laugh in his face but he didn’t have more important things to do.

He strode down the curved narrow path that descended lower into the ground as they approached the rocky cliff of the grotto. As they rounded into the grotto opening, Ben pulled up short. He heard Rey gasp behind him.

The grotto was breathtaking. 

Each couple involved with the Blood Moon Mating had chosen a specific place to mate. Poe and Finn had chosen a place directly at the midpoint between Mandalore and Takodana. Rose and Armitage, deep inside the woods just beyond Core, Val and Kyp, a cave that reminded them where they first met. And although he knew each site would be beautifully set up, he could not imagine one as beautiful as the one he had chosen for himself and Rey.

Hundreds of candles, aromatic and rich, were set on the juts of stone, the light from them glittering off the surface of the water as it streamed down the rock face and into the lower pond at the bottom. Water lanterns floated along the surface of the pond while candles set on the top of lily flowers weaved in between them as gentle waves from the waterfall spread out over the water. Combined with the stars above them and the moonlight casting down onto them, putting everything in soft focus, it seemed like something out of a fairy tale. 

Ben slid his hands down to Rey’s, weaving their fingers together as they slowly finished their descent down the path, their journey taking them to the edge of the waterfall. 

The sound of a throat clearing caught his attention and Ben looked behind them. The High Eunuch stood at the top of the grotto, anger barely concealed as he sluiced water off of his face. 

“I know you are… _eager_ , my Lord Alpha,” he canted piously from his position, “but there is a thing called tradition! We _must_ pray over you and the site of your union! Your behavior is—"

Ben interrupted with a gruff bark of annoyance. “You’ve prayed day and all night for the last two days! What good is more prayer going to do?” Plus the other Omegas here—their scents—were _bothering_ him. 

“My Lord!. The tradition!—"

Ben growled as he whipped around. “If you must pray, pray from there, _way_ over there. Stay out there all night if it pleases you. I, on the other hand, have a very important night to spend with the woman I love.”

The High Eunuch’s face scrunched. “Love?” He turned to another eunuch. “Did you not say they both refused to take the aphrodisiac?”

The eunuch nodded fervently. “They refused scent markers during the hunt, too, a well known binding agent for the wine. This isn’t hormones speaking, High Eunuch.”

“Yes, Eunuch. It ain’t hormones. I love her. The only thing I’m sure a lot of you were hoping never happened, but it did. My bond to this woman is as tight as a corded rope and as strong as the moon’s power on the tide. We don’t need your prayers, Eunuch. We will be happy, and I dare anyone of you to try and stop us,” Ben finished.

Ben turned back towards the waterfall and took a step just behind it, leading them deeper into a small cave right behind the falling water. 

“Ben,” Rey sighed. “Do you think it’s wise to antagonize the eunuchs on a night such as this?” Her hand flew to a wall, using it as a guide in the darkness. They both paused to remove their shoes before continuing deeper. “Most of them mean well.”

“Most of them,” Ben said, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice, “but I don’t trust the High Eunuch anywhere near you or I during this. Rather, I don’t trust The High Eunuch at all. I still haven’t cleared him of the hostage situation. Every time I look at my sister, I get angry. But…that’s not…not now. Here,” he reached out and gently slid closer, his hand curving around her jaw. “Close your eyes,” he said as he slipped his hand over them. He didn’t move away until he felt Rey’s eyelashes flutter against his palm. “Keep ‘em closed, Kenobi,” Ben threatened, smiling, his anticipation mounting.

His many trips to the grotto—to bathe, to escape, to meditate—allowed him the ability to see without seeing. He approached where the fire pit would be and removed a small box from deep in his robes. He peeled it open and was just able to see the orange and pink colored crystals reflecting the light.

_“It’s source mage fire,” Jacen said as he handed him the small box filled with a refined crystal like substance. “Sprinkle it over the wood and whisper “ava theohe”. The words usually react only to those with mage in their blood, but I think I’ve worked the spell to respond to you. Might work, might not…it’s awfully hard to do without Jaina….”_

He looked down at the fire pit. _It’s going to work_ ,” Ben thought.

Ben sprinkled the crystals, watching as the crystals were absorbed into the wood. He cleared his throat. “Ava theohe,” he whispered, confidently, sitting back and waiting for the embers to catch fire. They didn’t. “Okay.” He frowned. 

He took a step closer and tried the words again. “Ava theohe.” Nothing. Still unperturbed, he rubbed his hands together, holding them out like he’d seen Jaina do from time to time. He tried once more, bending low until he was right over the wood. “Ava theohe!” Darkness. Not even a flare of an ember. “Stupid fucking spell! Work!” he whispered furiously, glaring at the wood.

“Uh, what are you doing?”

Ben balled his fist at his sides. “I thought it would be too much work to try and light a traditional fire so Jacen worked up a source fire spell for me,” Ben explained. “But it’s not working,” he finished, pouting.

“Well,” Rey said from behind him, and at this point, it didn’t matter if she still had her eyes closed or not. “What were you supposed to do?” Rey tried, helpfully.

Ben huffed. “Sprinkle the crystals and say “Ava theohe.”

“ _Ava theohe_?”

Ben jumped back with a loud yelp as the fire pit erupted, the flames almost licking the ceiling. “Heavens above!” he stumbled back as the fire in the pit roared violently for a few moments before settling down. He turned towards Rey, who was staring at the fire with a mild look of surprise.

A deep line carved itself in between his brows. “How did you do that?”

Rey tilted her head. “I…followed directions?”

“Okay, okay, okay, yes but—" he sputtered but Rey took a step forward, and the look on her face shut him up.

“Ben…” she murmured as she looked around inside of the cave, “this is…”

With the light, Ben could finally notice how the grotto’s cave had been decorated. Impressed, he wondered how Finn managed such a thing while preparing for his own special night. He would definitely sanction a raise—double raise!—for this alone. 

“Kira…she told me quite a bit about you. Not the important things, like the things I’ll learn the longer I know you, but things she said you wouldn’t come out and say without a little prodding.” He walked across the cave and grabbed the stalk of one of the dozens of red, spiky flowers littered about. “She told me how it was traditional for those in your family to mate in the presence of tashflowers. I also have...” Ben turned around, excited and anxious, to look for the booklet Kira had slipped into his saddle bag before they left Takodana. He found it on top of a chest that contained extra blankets and furs. 

Rey's eyes narrowed as if what Ben was holding could not be real. “The…Unification Rites and Vows.”

Ben nodded. “Your mother’s.”

Rey inhaled sharply, her eyes riveted to the burgundy hidebound book. “How—how…”

“Kira seems to think that your memories of your mother are locked away to protect you. And she says she protects you by keeping those memories from fading. Thus, she knew where your father hid all of your mother’s possessions.” He stepped across the room and laced his fingers with Rey’s, pulling her to the center of the room.

_“These words have resulted in very long lasting and powerful bonds, Benjamin Solo. There is power in them. Magic,” Kira had whispered._

“This is amazing, Ben. I—” she looked up at Ben, speechless, her eyes bright and wild and beautiful.

He flipped through a few pages until he found the one he was looking for. “I’m no great speech giver but I would like to recite this to you?”

Rey huffed out a laugh. “Have you heard your voice?” she muttered. But dutifully she gave him her attention, her gaze drifting to the book one final time before settling into stillness.

Ben cleared his throat. 

“I am east and you are west.

I am the sun and you are the moon. 

I am blood and you are breath.

We are one, the sky, the stars, and flesh—inseparable.”

Ben smiled as he finished the vow. It was awfully pretty, the words. He flipped the page to show Rey her response vow. Then his mouth dropped open as he looked up at her. “Are you…are you crying,” he asked, panicked. 

Rey let go on Ben’s hand and collapsed in a fluff of her amazing smell, the furs and blankets shifting as she plopped down. She yanked and pulled on them until she could pull them all around her. “This is exactly how I saw my mating happening! I mean, that’s a lie, I never thought I’d be able to mate because of,” she paused to gesture wildly. “This is the sweetest thing you’ve ever done and I’ve just been an emotional wreck all night. A wreck! Ever since the ceremony and the damn soup and Durteel’s announcement and—and I don’t know why! I’ve been trying to stop it, but I can’t. I was irritated earlier because it took forever for them to wash the oil out of my hair and I snapped at the man. I _yelled_. Gods. And he wouldn’t let me apologize and I felt so awful. But then the shifter doing my hair couldn’t get the braid right and I know, I _know_ , braiding is a custom and very important to you and I wanted you to come and do it and they told me it wasn’t allowed. So, I just cried and cried. I wanted to look perfect for you, Ben, perfect! And be strong so you didn’t have to worry about anything but—"

Ben dropped to his knees and gathered Rey’s hands in his. “Is that why you were shaking earlier?”

“Yes!” she screeched. “What if I don’t do this right? What if, even after all of this, after all you’ve done to make this beautiful, all you’ve given up, even after everything we’ve been through, I’m _still_ not enough—"

“Rey,” Ben said, silencing her before she had a meltdown. “Sweetheart. You are _perfect._ For me. For yourself. For anybody who would even _dare_ to think otherwise _._ You may not _be_ perfect but neither am I!”

“You’re really close, Ben,” she mumbled.

“I’m not, love. I’m really not.”

“Yeah,” she sniffled. “You did try to eat me alive our first night together.”

Ben opened his mouth to ask for forgiveness again, and he would continue to ask for it, but he paused when he realized Rey’s lips were curled around her charge. “Even so—”

“No, Rey. None of that. You speak of ‘everything’, but have you really thought about what that means?” He pushed at the furs she was trying to drown herself in, ghosted his fingers down her arm, using it to pull her closer. “That despite everything about you, and everything about me, that the Gods decided that we _still_ belonged together? We belong together, Rey. There is no other answer," Ben finished swiping under Rey’s eyes, wiping the tears away.

“I’m…” and she swallowed, “I’m really glad you didn’t give up on me.”

Ben scoffed. “I would follow you to the ends of the world, Rey.” He kissed the hand in his. “Now. Can I please have the answer to my vow? I desperately need it.” He nudged the book closer, but she didn’t even glance at it. Rey’s hand ran across his jaw, then up to cradle his neck. She moved forward until their foreheads touched. 

“I am life and you are the heavens.

I am adventure and you are home.

I am a seed, you are the earth.

We are one, from start to finish, a circle—complete.”

Rey finished her vows and it was his turn to swallow, to ignore just how hard his heart was beating, how he could feel the echoes of hers in his chest. “You are my Alpha, Ben. My leader, my _heart_. I recognize the power in you, and I show my deference. I belong to you,” she whispered.

It was as if the universe had ripped itself apart to create enough energy to bring them here, to bind them. Every infinitesimal part of creation existed only for the here and now. “You own me in every way imaginable. You are my equal in every conceivable fashion. I will always protect that, and you, Rey. Always.”

Ben saw something shining in Rey’s eyes and it reminded him of a look he hadn’t seen in a very long time—the way Leia had looked at Han that fateful day in the woods. He didn’t know if it was akin to the love that Leia had for Han but it was so very familiar and he knew it meant something… _something_.

Then he was being kissed.

And he reacted to that _immediately_ , licking into her mouth. He wasn’t in control of the kiss for long, scant seconds maybe before she deepened it. Then a heartbeat later she was pulling away. “Wait.”

Ben almost groaned. Tonight, he would rather bite his tongue off than do that. But and still, he waited. 

She hummed as if she were making a decision, reached above and patiently, quietly, began removing Ben’s sacrament–a simple headdress of rubies, flowers and gold.

It had taken a lot of convincing from Finn to forgo the for them to not force him and Rey into the heavy bear hides. This version of The Sacraments was better. She didn’t stop until the crown was detangled from the braid it was wefted into. When she was done, she combed his hair through the ends, and then dug her hands into the roots, massaging his scalp.

“Have I ever told you how much I love your hair?” Rey asked, staring at the wavy tips fondly.

Ben chuckled. “It’s a nuisance,” he raised his hand and repeated her actions, gently separating her hair from her headdress. “I was thinking about cutting it.”

Rey slapped his hand away with a small gasp. “Don’t you dare.” Ben laughed. “I know you said it was okay but…I wish that we could have children. I wish I didn’t have to eradicate that part of me. I want to give you a son. Or maybe a daughter. Maybe both,” Rey whispered wistfully, sadly. She reached forward and began fingering the metal clasps of his robe.

Ben tapped her up under his chin. “We can still have children, you know. Alderaan has an _exceptionally_ large orphanage. We _can_ have a kid of our own, no matter what.” Ben said it with a lop-sided grin as he watched the gloom color Rey’s eyes.

Rey was right. She was a lot more emotional today, mercurial even, swinging from happiness to this melancholy, then back to something more radiant than the sun. Open. Maybe it was the occasion. He was thankful for it, though. Rey spoke of the future. A future with him.

“Hm. Wise as always, oh Great one,” she said, smirking, ,the upswing and final resting place of her mood.

He had to get her back for that, so he closed the space between the two of them, sealing his lips to hers. And they make out like teenagers, like two shifters who just discovered the art of kissing. It’s a bit messy, wild, utterly devastating. Rey made noises, new ones, mewls and grunts, and it is a bit feral, he admitted to himself. But that was what he needed, what he wanted from her. Everything, from her Omega hindbrain kicking in, to her sweet soft touches, the promise of wet, wet, wet—

Rey abruptly pulled back, yanks her dress up, and shifted forward, straddling Ben’s legs, her knees pressing into the outside of Ben’s thighs

“He told me it would be mild. How do people think through this,” she panted. “I’ve never been heat-crazy but then again I’ve never wanted to experience that, that blank desire for _any_ Alpha. But,” Rey said as she nibbled on Ben’s bottom lip. “I feel like I’m going to burst out of my skin. Just the thought of you, inside me, Gods,” she groaned, dragging the vowel out. “I can feel it in the pit of my stomach. I want to feel you there. I want to feel you for _days_.” 

“Rey,” he grunted. Tentatively, he ran his hands up the back of her thighs, and felt her shiver, not stopping until he was palming her ass. Rey smirked against his lips before tilting her head and kissing Ben again.

It was…almost strange to be the object of Rey’s desires. At first, he wondered about it. Then he wanted it, yearned for it. Then he took a step back and wished simply for her friendship. But here, and now, with her looking the way that she did, and her looking _at him_ the way she was looking, Ben felt like a space rock crashing into hard terra—a single instance of complete obliteration, heat and fusion and upheaval and settlement.

Rey wound his arms around Ben’s neck before seating herself comfortably in Ben’s lap—like she already was coming to terms of her ownership of him. Fuck—he’d let her do whatever she wanted. Damn near manic with absolute awareness of her powers, she rolled her hips down, grinding him down, into dust, and they both gasped. She tilted her head, then looked down, curiosity on her face, and did it again.

“It is not kind to tease, love,” Ben gritted out between clenched teeth.

“This is experimentation, Benjamin. Not— _oh_ —teasing.”

Rather than answer her, Ben affixed his mouth to anywhere he could reach. Decision made, he latched onto her long, freckled neck, and decided she needed another blemish. So he sucked a bruise there, marking her, the Alpha in him radiating with territorial pride. Ben lapped at her pulse in time with each downward roll of Rey’s hips, feeling himself grow so hard under Rey’s ministrations that the rush of blood to his cock left him faint. 

His skin was alive, a maddening tingle that he felt everywhere. “I want you so much. In any way you’ll have me,” he breathed against her neck. 

“You have me, Ben. I am yours. Yours.”

“Mine?” Something shifted in Ben, hindbrain activating like someone notched a bow, aimed, and fired. He palmed and groped at her, his grip bruising as he pulled Rey against him. “Mine,” he growled, the aching, feral part of him pushing past grounded reasoning. “Is that what you want? Is that what you want from me? This is it, Rey. There is no turning back from this.”

Rey brought her face even with Ben’s and Ben was surprised at how dark and full of desire they were. “I already told you,” she hissed. “I want to feel you for days. Weeks.”

That was all he needed to hear.

Ben immediately began pawing at his own pants, trying to find the stupid belt buckle, under the now seemingly unnecessary robe. Rey knocked his hands away, expertly popped open each clasp, and tore the robe from his shoulders, yanking it down his arms and throwing it…somewhere. He didn’t care where. She undid his belt with a speed that he couldn’t keep up with—not that his brain was working at all. He made to stand so he could kick them off, but Rey was eager, almost to the point of demanding, and before Ben could move, Rey's long fingers were sliding into his pants and wrapping around his hard length. 

Ben hissed as she worked him into a mess, sending rivulets of hot pulsing pleasure to the pit of his belly. He inhaled greedily, trying to keep his wits, but paused when he smelled a shift in her scent. “Rey,” he said. He reached down and stalled her lips, his finger sliding across a patch of skin that until recently felt like any other part of her skin. Now it was slightly raised, smoother than the surrounding skin. He snatched his hand back as if it had burned him.

“Rey,” he tried again. Her scent now is magnified almost inescapable. It is overwhelming. He felt like he was being drugged. “Rey…your scent.”

“What about it?” she murmured, enraptured in her task.

He regained his footing, grounded himself, and reached for her wrist again, not able to ignore the rush of scent that invaded his nose, all his senses. “Are you okay? You’re—the medication? You’re—” and then he recognized another scent, headier, muskier, divine. It was the scent of slick.

Did he understand the nature of Rey’s medication? No. But he knew _her._ And this…this was new.

“Sweetheart, if you’re not feeling—"

“You’re talking too much,” Rey hissed against Ben’s cheek, razing her teeth side of his face, nipping at his chin, and jaw, and throat. It was almost, almost, enough for him to bare _his_ neck to her, Almost. But Rey wasn’t done. “ _Fuck_ me.” In one deft move that Ben would be thinking about until the day he died, Rey lifted her hips, lined Ben up with her slippery entrance, and plopped down.

Rey made a small whimpering noise, a cousin of relief and surprise, but Ben _howled_ , so loudly he was sure everyone in the Dyad Pavilion could hear him. 

Every Alpha or Beta Ben had ever fucked always needed a moment to adjust, every Omega had been so out of their minds that he wasn’t sure they even felt anything other than some internal need to be filled.

This was different, Rey was different. She was so small and tight, a vise of wet heat where Ben was the one who needed a moment to adjust, to let whatever part of his animal brain that would be able to sustain—because he was failing, he was _failing_ — take over. He couldn’t lose control, not yet, so he concentrated, gritting his teeth as Rey came up onto her knees and dropped her hips again, swallowing Ben inside of him. 

“ _Fucking stars, Rey. Fuck_ ,” he bit out between clenched teeth as he leaned back onto his elbows. Rey set a pace, riding Ben hard, like she was possessed. Ben gripped her hips and tried to keep up, but Rey was on some kind of mission. And maybe it was symbolic, that this was Rey showing him something. That although he was the Alpha and Rey was the Omega, that Rey could be as dominant as him, the one who took control, the one who led.

Which was sweet, and beautiful, and he was so proud of her but…

But…

Rey asked him, _pleaded_ with him to claim her, to _fuck_ her. She could try to prove and fight Ben over this later. Ben had a job to do. 

The dress had to go. He fumbled with whatever was holding it together, a small chain at the back of her neck and he ripped it like it was straw, paper. It fell to pieces, tinkering behind her as it hit the ground. The dress fell, too, slipping from her shoulders, pooling around her waist.

She was still moving and he had to—he had to. His hands covered her chest and—she was so tiny —he moved a hand and leaned forward, resting between her breasts. Rey slowed down, then stopped, and he could feel a puff of her breath across the crown of his head.

“I—Ben—this is sweet but…I can’t. Please,” she pleaded as she continued to rise, then fall, ruining him.

He lapped at one nipple, because he couldn’t not, they were right there, but before she could utter another complaint, he slowly tipped her back. She was so focused on riding Ben that she yelped when she began falling backwards. “I’ve got you,” he said, as he wrapped his arms around her. One moment to look at her, framed in pale silk and dark furs before he was kicking off his pants, and then using his body to cover Rey like a second skin. He pressed her thighs into her chest, her knees into her shoulders.

“Yes, Ben, yes, that, that! Please just—"

He drove into her in one thick, powerful stroke and Rey inhaled so hard, Ben thought she would choke. 

Choke. 

Choke.

Ben wrapped a hand around Rey’s throat, squeezing firmly as he tried to fuck the air out of her lungs. Rey’s eyes screwed shut as her hands moved to her throat, covering Ben’s and for a moment, Ben thought Rey was going to tell him to stop and he would. He never wanted to hurt Rey…

But Rey’s hands ghosted over his, up his arms, and down his shoulders, using his back as an anchor to ride out Ben’s powerful thrusts. Her breaths—no pants— were coming out in shallow gasps now. She looked ruined, worn out, gasping and grunting and panting. Her eyes were dilated, green making way for a dark of unadulterated passion.

She may have looked ruined, but he was destroyed. For anyone else.

Rey had long legs that Ben wanted to throw over his shoulder but he couldn’t, he didn’t have—he couldn’t stop to do anything else other than fuck her. Instead he pressed closer, practically bending her in half, until their faces are a whisper apart. 

“Tell me who you belong to, Rey,” Ben growled, demanding. 

Rey’s mouth fell open but nothing but incoherent babble fell from between her lips. 

Ben picked up the pace, fucking into Rey. “Tell me,” he growled. 

“You’re so deep, I can’t—I can’t—please, please, ” Rey sobbed, her grip on Ben’s back slipping, her nails digging into his skin. Rey raked her hands down Ben’s back, deep, but the pain catapulted his pleasure and his senses swam.

Here with her legs spread, for him, for him, _for him_ , he could smell the very essence of her scent. No one else smelled like Rey and soon Rey would smell like no one else but _his_.

Ben placed his hands under Rey’s back and lifted her up, only to maneuver her on to her knees. With a firm grip, he grabbed the back of her neck, forcing her upper body down, a natural arch forming as she did. Rey’s ass was presented to Ben, so pretty, smeared slick. 

Rey’s soft whine recaptured his attention.

“What—what are you doing? Why aren’t you fucking me? You said that you were going to fuck me—”

Ben raised on his knees and reentered Rey with one stiff stroke, almost smug at her choked off cry. He thrusted once and Rey began keening and shaking, her body convulsing and Ben’s next breath felt punched out of him as Rey’s body tightened around him as her orgasm took her by surprise. 

Panting, she looked over her shoulder, her light eyes blown wide with lust, tinted with flecks of gold. “Keep—keep going, Alpha.”

Ben nodded, pleased, _extremely_ pleased, and snapped his hips before pulling back, a precursor as he set a pace, fast and rough, his fingers digging into Rey’s hips. Mid-thrust Ben could feel that all familiar tingle in his groin that let him know his knot was about to form.

His control was slipping, it was _slipping_ , and he felt euphoric and half crazed at the same time. He picked up the pace, fucking into her for all he was worth. Rey mewled loudly, muffled by the furs cushioning her face.

Her scent was _everywhere_.

Ben lifted his hand from Rey’s upper back and placed it under her belly, pulling up and back until her back was flush against his chest. He didn’t stop. He didn’t slow down. The new position transformed Rey’s pants into gasping, breathy moans. “Ben, Ben. Alpha, my Alpha, right there, right there!”

“Yours,” he growled in her ear as she reached behind him, sinking her hands into Ben’s hair. Ben appreciated the gesture, but his focus was on another patch of skin that was making itself known, just under her on Rey’s back, just under her nape. Shiny, smooth, fragrant, and beckoning.

He ran his palm across it, and Rey arched her back, inhaling gulps of air, her body shivering and shuddering and he couldn't help it. He did it again. Her reaction alone was enough to know that this was fated. That this was what the blood moon wanted.

_This_.

“I am the east and you are the west,” Ben mouthed against her back, one hand snaking down her body to between her legs, his thumb, back and forth, back and forth. 

She whined and placed her hand on top of his, pressing down, applying pressure. His fingers were long and just beyond that precious bundle of nerves, Ben could feel him at her entrance, stretching, the silken glide of her slick a wonder to behold.

“I am the sun and you are the moon,” he continued. 

Rey sobbed, her body taut as Ben felt Rey tightening around him, a foretaste of an approaching orgasm. 

“I am blood and you are breath.”

Rey’s body snapped as the orgasm took over her body, her mouth parted in a soundless scream. Ben felt the steady throb between his fingers and it tipped him over the edge.

“We are one, the sky, the stars, and flesh—inseparable.”

Ben felt his knot bloom and he snapped his hips once, grunting into his own orgasm. Swiftly, he bit down onto the back of Rey’s neck, his fangs sinking deep into the skin.

Rey’s answering moan was loud and guttural. Feral. Consuming.

Then Ben felt it.

He _felt_ the bond.

It was sweet, it was intense, it was otherworldly. 

Ben collapsed to the furs, taking Rey with him, His body depleted. Sleep seemed irrepressible—as if he was devoid of energy, as if someone had yanked his soul out of his body, rearranged it, composed a different song before shoving it back into him.

The feeling was indescribable. 

_This is what a bond feels like?_

His eyes fluttered as he tried to fight the darkness taking him over. He kept his eyes on his mate—

His mate.

—the faint whispers of her thoughts teasing around in his mind, stronger and more fluid and steady than before. He was just too exhausted to listen. But the song she sang in his head was joy composed in breath and blood and bone. It was ecstasy. It made him greedy. To have her, to be with her, all the time.

He didn’t care how he sounded. They were cautionary tales of Omegas who sank their will into an Alpha’s desire, warping their minds and controlling them but he _didn’t_ care. Rey owned him, all of him and he wanted to continue feeling like this for the rest of his life. 

He reached for his bond-mate, his equal in all things. She said something, a happy murmuring as Ben wrapped his arms around her, and began to gently lick her gland, clearing away the blood. He had to take care of her.

He had to…take care…

Sleep, his mind said. Sleep.

…of her…

Before his eyes closed, and he fell into the blissful darkness of soul sleep, Ben whispered—

_“Ama’il etandula. Ama’il etudala”._

I am yours. You are mine.


	21. life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we gooooo....

Leia was familiar with Dathomir.

Overwhelmingly familiar.

This was her home—well one of her homes. She was as Alderranian as they came, but she was also a product of Naboo and Tatooine. But the school of hard knocks? That was Dathormir. That was Aurilia.

Most people never ventured into feral lands, Dathomir or Ves or even worse, those farther west. Mainly because the scary stories kept even the most curious at bay. Stories like Ves was full of feral bloodthirtsty shifters with their _ayitshintshi_ —natural wolves—who participated in cannibalism, rouge banditry, rape, pillage and plunder. Dathomir, on the other hand was full of the mystics, the ones the other villages couldn’t control, dark force users.

Most was false although there was some truth in every lie.

Ves was…brutal and reclusive. They guarded their borders like each erected wall made of stone and metal were offspring of their clan’s strength. It wasn’t for the weak but it was tolerable if those indoctrinated to its harshness started young.

Dathomir wasn’t a nation of evil mages who performed animal sacrifices and debauchery. It did happen but for very specific reasons, reasons that Core has benefited from despite their ignorance of the fact. Dathomir was a collection of _tribes_ , a province of people where some were gifted with the use of magic. The Force, some called it, Allya’s love, others titled it, battle magic others named it. They had rules and laws they had to obey. They were different from Core law, but then again, no one in Dathomir was like anyone in Core.

Leia slowly walked down the red clay path that led from the top of the hills to the city proper— Aurilia. Aurilia was a collection of craggy canyons, red rocky mounds that could pass for hills, and flat land. The mounds were tall, the canyons deep, and the air dry and arid, although once a year the waters from Alav, the body of water that surrounded Avaal, would overflow and flood the city. That is why most of the houses, stores and shops were built directly into the Aurilia’s stone hills. That’s why one of Aurilia’s largest exports was mud.

Most known Dathomiri lived near landmarks—the Dreaming River clan lived near the Dreaming River, the Misty Falls clan, near Misty Falls. Singing Mountain clan, yes, near the Singing Mountain. Yet, most those who held no affiliation to a clan or had migrated from their ancestral lands, lived in Aurilia.

And then there was the Den. It was the antithesis of Aurila of all the Witch clan strongholds. The Den, an enormous and extensive cave a good distance from Aval, was another story. The tales about Dathomir being a dark and mystical place were accurate, but they stemmed from that one place, a massive assemblage of Nightsisters, Nightbrothers, and members of the Frangawl Cult.

While Aurilia was filled with shifters who lived as normally as feral wolves and mages did, the Den was filled with dark mages, dark force users, and dark occultists who were obsessed with the arts, the limits they could push, the power they could grab.

Leia hated the Den, yet it was the very same place she’d learned of Red Magic—the magery that had absolved her of her bond with Snoke.

“We have to make this quick,” she whispered under her breath as she, Han, and Julien traveled quickly through the main district of Aurilia. Nico and Jagged served as lookouts at the top of the hill misshapen enough to hide them with a signal at the ready should trouble come their way.

Leia guided them forward, through the district, up and down it’s thoroughways and into a bustling and loud market, each side of the street flanked by vendors hawking their wares.

“Ah! Miss! Come and see! A wonderful portrait of our founder, Allya! Would this not make a lovely addition to your dwellings?”

“Do not listen to him! I have here the actual cloak owned by Allya _herself_! Kept in perfect condition! You could be the owner of the rarest artifact!”

“Blasphemy! Unless you have some sort of time travelling spell, there is no way that is Allya’s cloak! But here? You see? Actual samples from the Nardithi Cluster! They hold such great power! Imagine the amplification of your spellwork with this!”

Leia chuckled, bent her head low, and led the way out of the market alley. It led to the path that would usher them towards the Star Temples. Which, if she remembered correctly, served an entirely different purpose other than keeping Dathomir from imploding on itself.

“You still know these lands so well, Leia.”

Leia looked back at her Han, winking. “You never forget some places” A path lined with purplish red flowers caught her attention, and she paused for a moment, recognizing the path to one of her childhood home. She held her gaze for one longing moment, before sighing and indicating that they should keep going. It would do no good to dwell on Anakin and Padme right now.

“Does being here remind you of your past?” Julien said, his long legs bringing him to her side. “Every time I step foot in Takodana, it’s nothing but memories, good ones...and very bad ones. I’m sure you had an eventual time growing up here.”

Leia twisted her lips then scowled. “Eventful is...a nice word to use. Did you know I was the daughter of two mage users?”

“Anakin,” Julien tried. “A hero of the Second Shifter war, and Padme.”

“Yes. My mother was a Dathomirian legend. They weren’t from here, my mother being from Naboo, my father, Tatooine, however, the culmination of their powers made them _very_ popular. You think the market is nuts now, you should have seen the things they _claimed_ were from my parents.. They died young, even younger than my brother had. I was raised by Bail and Breha, who brought me here often because they wanted me to be in touch with some of my parents’ history.

Breha’s bodyguard, Flo'su, was originally from Dathomir. Now,” she said as she turned a corner, “Flo’su was an exceptionally powerful warrior mage, lived by _Ntatsuvi_ or The Old Way. She spent her days with her fist bloodied and her teeth bared.” The road they were on dipped into a valley and Leia guided them towards the city’s edge. In the near distance she could see the pyramids of the Star Temple.

“She would try to teach me all that warrior fighting stuff and I would mostly ignore her. There was something magical about politics and spells. She couldn’t teach me politics, not the kind Core liked, but she would drag to any empty field she could find and let me practice blowing shit up.”

“She can still blow shit up, by the way,” Han said, wryly. “I lost a bunch of good furniture to her temper.”

“You had your choices—Gutia’s terrible not good furniture or peace and serenity.”

“I picked wisely every time, didn’t I, Princess.”

“Yes, you did.” She turned and kissed him on his cheek, enjoying the stubble. Sometimes Han would grow a beard so thick she could barely see his lips and then he’d shave it all off, because he was a mercurial ass. But she loved that wolfish, roguish shadow he would get in the valley of his indecision. “Now, as I was saying. There was a woman who would join in from time to time, usually in the summers. Her name was Akoko and she was an old packmate of Flo’su’s before she left. Watching them fight was amazing!” Leia exclaimed. ”Akoko used to live by the Old Way until she mated with a very connected wolf in Takodana.” She turned to Julien. “You said you were mated to an Alpha of Takodana?”

“Yes, ma’am. _The_ Alpha of Takodana. Her name was Coriander.”

Leia hummed as they continued to walk. “Then maybe you recognize this name? Palpatinei? He was Akoko’s mate.”

Julien’s brow bunched as he thought. “Hmm. Palpatine was a village alderman, very wealthy, not worth much outside of his money, although there were rumors he was a dark battle magic user. But he looked too old and frail to conjure up anything. Unfortunately, Palpatine was my mate’s grandfather.”

“Ah!” Leia said, turning to face him. “That’s why that name sounded familiar! Your mate was Reyn’s daughter.”

Julien frowned. “You know who Reyn is?”

“Of course I do! She is my dearest friend! You see, after Palpatine died, Akoko fled Takodana because of the law banning magery. You must know of it.”

“I do,” Julien answered. “It was overturned by Brenton, Reyn’s mate after she was killed.”

“Killed?” Leia tilted her head to the side, confused. “Reyn…Reyn’s not dead.”

Julien’s lips curved into a smirk. “I know.”

Leia took a long moment to stare at Julien, her gaze leaving him only to stare at her mate. Han didn’t do much, the confusion on his face evident as he leaned forward like he was about to swallow up a juicy bit of gossip. Finally her gaze swept back to Julien. “So you know who we are looking for?”

“Yes,” Julien replied. “Only problem is, I have no idea how to find her.”

“Oh. Oh, that’s _easy_ ,” Leia said easily, glancing at her mate and then at their tall shifter companion. “The question is, how well do you fight, Julien?”

Leia reached for the snowbark sour ale in front of her and gulped it down nervously.

“Oh my god,” she muttered into her drink. “She’s going to kill them.

Leia couldn’t be quite sure when, but a fighting hall had been built at the base of the Star Temple. Something about only the strongest could guard the Infinity Gate which was a stretch of the imagination. However, here it stood, full to the brim of the Tameless—the feral wolves of Dathomir. They surrounded the fighting pit, hissing, throwing credits onto the pit floor, calling out their bets, acting like the savages they were.

Leia _liked_ the Tameless—they lived by _Ntatsuvi_ yet without the amendments that had kept the Old Way alive for as long. They didn’t bathe much, which made relations with the Meek, the non-feral shifters, a bit strained, but nobody could deny their passion.

Currently, their passion was centered on the main bout. It featured a fighting pit favorite and Leia was amazed the old biddy was still throwing blows like she was a pup! The name Akoko’s Pride hung above the pit and she still dressed as she did when she fought as a youth—a skintight black bodysuit and a cape made out of pure white wolf hide that draped down her back. She looked regal as regal as she was.

If killer warrior mage was a concept of regalness to you.

Most would be surprised. Sweet yet sarcastic Reyn was a lethal bloodthirsty fighter. Leia blamed it on her wolf, Winter.

Winter was as unhinged as they come.

She just hoped Reyn didn’t kill her mate first. She’d handled Julien like an old rag doll two matches beforehand.

“THROW THE FIGHT, HAN!” she yelled from outside of the pit.

Han looked over to her, scowling. “I know I’m getting old, _Princess_ , and I’m not as fast as I used to be but I assure you I’m not about to throw a fucking fight—”

Leia winced as Reyn tossed Han over her shoulder, his “not so old” body colliding with the hard packed earth. She placed a hand over her mouth at the sound of the air leaving his lungs with a pained grunt. After he landed, Rayn hovered over him with a gleam in her eyes.

“That’s not Reyn.” _Kriffin sithspit._ “That’s Winter. “

_Hm. She might actually kill him._

As _Winter_ raised her foot to kick Han while he was down, Leia gathered her skirts and hopped over the fighting pit wall, using a little battle magic to hasten her steps. She thought about calling out to Winter, but if Reyn was using Winter to fight, Winter would ignore her. Winter had always ignored Leia.

So instead, she dug her feet into the soil and launched herself forward, sailing through the air and tackling Winter to the ground. The Tameless went absolutely wild, throwing more credits and raising the stakes under the banner of a new challenger. Leia would have rolled her eyes at their chants but the earth was hard and the impact was not kind to either of them. Leia rolled over off of Winter and tried to catch her breath. Sighing, she turned to her old friend and—

Quickly scrambled the hell out of the way, barely missing Winter’s elbow aimed for her face. Winter tried again, this time rolling, her fist extended. Leia gasped as Winter’s fist connected with the earth, dust flying from the impact.

Leia had never liked fighting much but that didn’t mean she wasn’t skilled enough to fight back. _Or at least defend myself!_

Winter jumped to her feet, eyes sparking pure white, and began chasing Leia, whereas Leia was only missing her blows by continuing to roll away. Her escape was cut short when she hit the far wall of the pit. She looked up and on one side, —the Tameless were screaming down at her in excitement. On the other, she saw the hard bottom of Winter’s boot careering towards her head. She did the only thing she could think of. She pushed off the wall hard, colliding with Winter’s supporting leg and sending her sprawling to the ground.

Leia's reaction was quick, _had_ to be quick. She kip’ed up and used the forward momentum to get enough motion so she could throw herself back, drop down, her elbow landing in Winter’s midsection. Winter grunted, a hand flying over her midsection and Leia took advantage again. Flinging her leg over, she straddled Winter’s waist and grabbed a hold of her arms, throwing them over her head.

“Snap out of it, you dumb bitch!” she yelled in Winter’s face.

“Who the fuck are you calling a dumb bitch, you dumb _old_ bitch?!”

“Yeah and you’re just a spring chicken!” Leia rolled her eyes. “Winter. Let Reyn out.”

Winter chuckled. “I knew you’d be back one day, you old skag! Just one more second! Just one and you would have been permanently wearing my elbow!” Winter laughed, a look of joy in her icy white eyes.

“Well, almost doesn’t count, you animal! Let my friend out. This is important!”

“You are such a nag! Do this, don’t do that! Don’t kill this person! Sithspit!” Eventually Winter sighed. “Whatever. Fight’s over anyways. Not like I want to stick around and talk to you anyways!” Winter closed her eyes and Leia swore she saw her roll them before her eyes opened again and Leia was greeted with warm hazel ones.

Leia’s frown morphed into a smile. “This isn’t exactly what I imagined our reunion would be like.”

Reyn looked down in between them and back up with a flush. “Get off of me, you ninny!” she said the silvery tone Leia recognized, so much easier to deal with than Winter’s harsh curses.

Leia grinned and stood up slowly, her muscles complaining as she did. She reached down and helped Reyn up, pulling her into a tight hug that Reyn returned happily, laughing in her ear.

The Tameless began to shout even more bets. Ones of “Kiss her! Bed her!”

Reyn muttered a Dathomiri curse at them that Leia pretended she couldn’t translate, but Reyn was Reyn, an entertainer at heart. Leia barely had enough time to blink before Reyn was squishing her cheeks between her hands and laying a fat kiss on her.

They went _nuts_. The Tameless went absolutely nuts. “You’ve been gone so long I almost forgot what your face looked like!”

“Well, Winter didn’t,” she muttered. “She almost killed me and my mate. She was happy about it.”

Reyn looked over her shoulder at Han’s body sprawled over the ground, his eyes staring at the ceiling like it contained the answer to his defeat. “Oi, that’s your mate?” She whistled in appraisal. “You always had a good eye, but…but what happened to Snoke?”

Leia shuddered. “Long story. One that will take some time,” Leia looked over the crowd, “peace and quiet.”

Reyn looked at The Tameless, uttered another curse that set them off even louder. “I can’t get you peace, but I can get you quiet, Lele.” She began to walk towards the exit of the pit. “Let’s get your mate and his friend and head to my quarters,” she said as she wiped a line of blood from the corner of her mouth. “The Tameless aren’t known for keeping a secret.”

“Their first mistake was failing to realize that I would recognize Maz instantly. She was my mate’s best friend. I would recognize her in a fog storm,” Reyn explained. “I mean, she’s knee high to a flurrg!”

Reyn had led them through the backhalls of the fighting hall, a section reserved for the fighters who brought in enough money to the pit to be called a star attraction. The room was drab looking but Leia could see Reyn’s touches that made it seem more like a bedroom than a stale dressing room. A large portrait of Akoko, Reyn’s mother, sat over her dresser, along with smaller portraits of her grandmother Rumaythah, and her great grandmother, Fanan—one of the Great Founders of the Old Way. Reyn’s bloodline was rich with the fighting spirit and shitload of magic.

Leia glanced at the wall above Reyn’s vanity. A bevy of _Natsumi_ tokens and blood paws hung there; trophies of her multitude of victories.

Reyn was always the more powerful fighter, the instinct to survive deep in her spirit. Leia did edge her out in magery but only by a small margin. Both of them had had troubled pasts but it was good to know they’d survived it. Maybe not clutching onto each other as they had pledged as young women but they’d survived.

“Little woman’s in the Den, I heard?” Han asked.

“‘Fraid so.” Reyn grimaced. “There has been a lot of strange activity lately in that damned hole. A dark mage from the Spiderclan has shown up and gods knows what she is doing in there. Recently, I’ve seen more First Order show up. I haven’t seen any familiar faces, however. Only that of Maz.”

“Benjamin left me a very quick note during his time in Takodana. I wasn’t under the impression that he knew much about me, but I gather as the Supreme Alpha of Core he must. That is how I learned of the First Order’s involvement,” Julien replied. “My question is why, although I may never get an answer to that.”

“I don’t understand anything about them! And I should!” Reyn exclaimed between clenched teeth. “After what they’ve done to my family, you’d think the gods would curse them all to die but no…after everything I’ve done to protect the ones I love, I still have to suffer ignorance and blind hatred,” Reyn finished softly.

Leia bit her lip. Ever since she’d...left Dathomir and been forced to bond with Snoke, her communications with Reyn had whittled down to nothing. She hadn’t been there to congratulate her on her own love forged mating, nor the birth of her children, nor console her after the death of Brenton and Coriander. She’s been a terrible friend. But it wouldn’t have mattered if she’d spent every day of her life with Reyn. She could still see the pain in Reyn’s eyes, no matter how she tried to cover it up with bravado.

Julien reached across the table and comforted Reyn with a hand on her shoulder.

“If I may ask, Reyn…you’ve been here since you’ve left Takodana, right? Brenton and Coriander tried to be as open with me as possible, but I understand there were things they didn’t tell me. Probably for my protection. But…what happened? By Coriander’s words, you were supposed to have come back by Rey’s 18th birthday. I don’t know… maybe if you’d been there…if we’d had your power…we could have saved—” Julien cut himself off and looked down at his hands, contrite. “I...apologize. Sincerely. I have no right to question you in this manner. It’s just that she looked just like you and…it’s hard thinking about her,” he frowned. “Forgive me.”

“Nonsense,” she said, taking Julien’s hand in hers. “I miss her, too. I miss her every day. And it’s okay to blame me, Julien. It’s okay. I may not have been the one to strike my mate and child down, but I might as well have been. If not me, then my mother. I feel we were both to blame.”

Julien’s hands slipped out of hers. “I–I wasn’t suggesting that!” he stressed, his voice panicked and remorseful. “Their deaths lie solely with the First Order. No one can blame you.”

“Gallius and Galli.” Reyn chuckled darkly. “Glad Galli is a rotting, stinking corpse. Not much I can say about Gallius, if the fucking fart is still alive. Yet my brothers would have not joined the First Order if it wasn’t for my mother and I.”

Leia looked down at her hands. She’s heard this story too many times, often during the times Reyn could visit, and it hurt with every iteration.

“Let me teach you a little something about Dathomiri and my family. Wait. I’m sorry. Our family, Julien.” Reyn stood from her chair and walked to the window. They were situated on the far side of the Star Temple and its shadow leaned away from over the pit. She laid a hand on Leia’s shoulder as she stared out over the Red Hills in the distance.

“I was born to Palpatine and his third mate, Akoko, a Dathomiri Omega Magi Tribute. It was a loveless political mating, Akoko’s mage status, another piece to fortify and secure my father’s greed for more and more power. His two former mates, Tamron and Brollo—the mother of Gallius and Sunku—were nowhere to be found. Some say that Palpatine had them killed. Who knows? Everything was disposable to him. As my mother was an Omega Magi, shortly after they mated, she became pregnant…with twins.”

“Most times Dathomiri Omega Magi can only bear twins,” Leia explained to Julian. “There have been exceptions, such as the birth of my son or...other circumstances.”

“My mother named my sister Suun, but she was stillborn. She died from a magi affliction called _akwusighi_ —an imbalance of life-force in mages in the womb. The imbalance shifted Suun’s life-force sustenance to me while starving her at the same time. Because Suun was stillborn, it was highly unlikely that I would manifest any mage powers. My father was pleased with that.” She looked over her shoulder. “Do you know anything about the mage ban in Takodana, Julian?”

“Yes. Palpatine helped convince Reza, Coriander’s paternal grandfather, Alpha at the time, to implement it.”

Reyn nodded. “He didn’t do it without a reason. Palpatine was not only unreasonably repulsed by my mother’s inherent magical powers, he was deathly afraid of them. For a man who’d quite possibly had his two previous mates murdered, the thought that Akoko was stronger than him, this lowly Omega female, scared him. So thus the magic disappeared in Takodana. When it was discovered that powers had manifested in me as well, my father tried to have me drowned. A young friend named Brenton Kenobi was the one to scare off Palpatine’s Praetorians. Unfortunately, the mage ban was where my brothers’…curiosity for the First Order came from. Gallius and Galli were poisoned by my father’s bigotry.” 

Julie frowned. “I still don’t see where you are to blame. Your father introduced mages into his family.”

“My father was an idiot. But he was wealthy and influential. That is until he died. My mother thought with his death, the influence of her name alone would be enough but with Gallius and Galli rallying against that “mage bitch” as they would call her, she was unsuccessful at convincing Reza to overturn the ban. So my mother left. By that time I was being courted by Brenton and I refused to leave. I visited my mother in Dathomir often, though. It’s how I met my dear dear friend,” Reyn said, squeezing Leia's shoulder.

“You eventually mated with Brenton,” Julien stated.

Reyn turned around, a small smile on her face. “Yes,” she said fondly. “We mated and I had Coriander shortly after. You see, I am a Dathomir Alpha Magi. It was amazing enough that power manifested in me after my twin’s death but it was highly unlikely that I had enough in me to pass on to my children. Coriander proved me right—she never exhibited any capacity for magery or battle magic. I had nothing to worry about. I wasn’t a carrier of magi powers. I was wrong. I was so very wrong.”

“Wrong?” Han said from the back of the room.

Reyn nodded. “ _Rey_. Rey inherited my magi powers,” Reyn whispered, a fearful look in her eyes. “That was the reason I had to leave. It is one thing to discover you have mage blood, it’s another thing to be born with them in a town that _hated_ mages. My father had tried to kill me, no telling what his sons would do. I had to make a decision. Pack my baby girl up and flee the city, bring her to Dathomir where she could learn to control her power or…bind her powers and allow her a normal childhood, free of the Tameless and the Meek, of Dathomir’s Old and New ways. Give her a childhood with her father and sister in a town that, for the most part, was peaceful and loving. The second option sounded so much better than a life here.

“So that’s what I did. I _binded_ my daughter’s power with the hope that one day I would be able to come back and teach how to control and conceal her powers. But I would have to leave her. The longer a binded magi stays around another magi of any strength, the weaker the bind gets. Brenton always told me. “One day, you’ll be back in my arms”. He was always so full of hope.” Reyn wiped the corner of her eyes. “Some good that did.”

“Reyn…Rey may not know it, but you still have to fulfill that promise,” Julien tried.

Reyn shook her head, braid flying over her shoulder. “No,” she admonished, although it was clear she was talking to herself. “I couldn’t possibly do that. I listen to what people are saying, how she’s now the Alpha Prime of all of Core.” Her smile looked proud, her head held high. “Big strong Alpha girl. She doesn’t need me…me and my terrible past showing up, haunting her.”

“But,” Julien started.

Leia knew that it was an excuse but when it comes to leaving your children, there was always an excuse, a reason, and in the end, it never amounts to shit.

“It’s fine, Julien. It’s fine.” Silence lingered over the room until Reyn put her hands on her hips and laughed loudly. “Okay! Enough of that sad stuff! Let’s go over this plan to free my friend Maz!” She took a seat at the table and looked around at everyone eagerly.

“Reyn?” Julien said, a strange look on his face. Leia wondered what he was going to say. After everything Reyn had told them, she figured they’d all be speechless.

“Hm?”

“There is something I have to tell you,” Julien said. “About Rey.”

The kind of panic only a parent could possess drained the color from Reyn’s face. “What? Is she okay? She’s okay, right?”

Julien waved his hands. “Oh, yes. Yes. She’s fine, perfectly fine…for now. However…there is a common denominator to these problems we are having—the First Order.”

“You know,” Reyn said, fingers tapping against the table. “It’s been driving me mad! What are the First Order doing with mages, one, and two what could they possibly want with Maz? She’ll stuff you full of herbs and rub stinking poultices all over you, that’s for sure, but she’s no mage. I mean she stopped that pirate shit decades ago!”

“It’s—”

Reyn kept speaking as if she hadn’t heard Julien, and maybe she didn’t consider the befuddled look on her face. “Their primary concern has always been with the Kenobi bloodline. Maz is not a Kenobi. And where the hell is Chewie?”

Han chuckled. “Currently on his way back from Kashyyyk. He was going to form a whole fucking army to come get her. Luckily, I let him know I had it handled. He’ll meet us once we have her.”

“Sounds like the big guy,” Reyn replied with a small smile. “But he shouldn’t need to because this shouldn’t have happened! There are no issues with Rey’s Alpha status. I mean, huttshit, she’s the karking Alpha Prime of Core! They have no reason to go after her—”

“Rey is an Omega, Reyn,” Julien said, firmly.

Leia almost choked on her tongue. “Excuse me?” Julien shot her a look that said, “I’ll explain,” but that didn’t keep her mouth from dropping open.

Reyn had an opposite reaction—more laughter. “I know I haven’t seen my daughter since she was a child, but I would know if Rey was an Omega, Julien,” she said, her grin, incredulous. “She wouldn’t have risen to Alpha of Takadona.”

“I—there is a lot you don’t—” Julien paused, inhaled, held it, let it go. “Your daughter is an Omega, Reyn,” Julien said patiently. “It is the reason the First Order kidnapped Maz. I promised Coriander that I would protect her as Alpha of Takodana. That promise expired when she rose to Alpha Prime of Core. Because they do not have easy access to her, they were trying to manipulate Rey by using her best friend and his mother. Trying to punish Maz for helping Brenton, Coriander and I conceal Rey’s true nature. We’ve known since she was sixteen. The First Order has known since she was sixteen. Have you ever wondered why the First Order killed Brenton and Coriander?”

Reyn looked at Julien like he’d grown another head. Leia was sure her face mirrored her friend’s.

Julien sighed. “Rey is not an Alpha magi, Reyn. She is an Omega magi and she and everyone she knows is in grave danger.”

The silence stretched across the room like banthahide. Then Reyn stood abruptly, her chair slamming to the floor as she turned for the door and began walking towards it.

“Where—where are you going?” Leia asked.

“To rescue Maz,” she said, simply. “Then we are all going to have a long talk about what the fuck you just said to me.” She opened the door and turned back to them. “Hurry up. This shouldn’t take long.”

“Ben. We have to leave this cave this lifetime,” Rey murmured before she turned over and snuggled deeper into his embrace.

Ben scoffed because her suggestion was absolutely ridiculous and instead buried his nose in Rey’s hair, relishing in their new scents. Layers. Ben’s scent, which had been described to him as something akin to wet dirt, still smelled like wet dirt and rain and clouds, but now he could smell Rey’s scent layering over it, creating a new smell altogether. The same with Rey—that smell, still completely unique to him, almost indescribable—was layered with his scent.

It was honestly the most addictive and grounding and awe inspiring thing he’d ever smelled.

He could have spent the week alone letting the smell wash over him. But there had been other plans. Mostly designed with the two of them in mind.

Rey had called it, “ _Fucking like a pair of Lepi_.”

Applicable.

“You’re one to talk,” Ben said into her hair. “You’ve been the definition of insatiable.”

Rey pulled back from his neck and stared up at him, lids lowered over eyes a crisp greenish hazel instead of the hazy lust gilded gold he’d been gazing into for days. “Sounds like you’re blaming me,” Rey challenged, her voice light with amusement.

“Me? Blame you? Oh, no, my love. We are one now; I blame you, I blame myself.” Ben twisted until he was hovering over his bond-mate, a sly grin on his face. “And how can I blame you for sharing this beautiful body with me as often as you please?” Ben said as he lowered his lips to Rey’s collarbone. “Or blame you for how loud you are when I take you. Or how sweet,” he pecked Rey across the lips, “your mouth is when it’s wrapped around my—”

“Okay! Enough! You win!” Rey cried out when Ben’s hands feathered between her legs, fingers caressing, teasing. “You’re the worst!”

“Am I?” Ben said softly, curving his hands down Rey’s hips, before taking his time and kissing down her body.

“Yes,” Rey whispered, shuddering, as Ben blew hot breath over the exposed nub of her clit. “Impossi...ble. You’re im—oh, fuck.”

Ben hummed and rolled his tongue around the bud just to see Rey’s reaction. It was well worth it, seeing his mate's head fall back into the furs, watching as her eyes slid shut, her teeth clenching together. Honestly, he couldn’t see himself ever getting tired of this.

Earlier as Rey fell deeper and deeper into her heat, even the slightest touch would have her falling apart in his hands, slick everywhere, a new plea on her lips ever before she was done. At first, Ben was worried. This was the first true heat she’d experienced since she was a girl, and the first one she’d spent with an Alpha.

But Ben took care of her. He’d done everything from building her a nest of blankets and furs, to making sure she ate and drank water and whenever she would come down, he would take care to wipe her body down. In return, she offered herself over and over again and…

Ben was blown away. It was so much and not enough at the same time. They stayed like that for days, Ben’s Alpha pushing him to give Rey’s Omega everything she demanded.

Three jobs. Hunt. Protect. Fuck. Kylo was crude, but Kylo was absolutely right.

On the fourth day, her need to have him in her, locked together, waned from its irrepressible heights to a fevered want, but it still didn’t take much for Rey to fall into the delicious throes of climax. And Ben? He just _loved_ it. Every last bit of it—her taste was amazing, only second to her scent—every last drop he could take, every moan or hiss or plea he could squeeze out of her.

There was nothing more beautiful than Rey’s body response to orgasms.

All of it was utterly ridiculously addictive and he was not sure how he ever lived before without this.

Without her.

There was only one option when he was tempted with such a thing. He pushed her legs open, wide, as far as they could go and buried his face in her cunt, making an absolute mess of things as he endeavored to bring her to climax once again. The scent of her here was... _incandescent_ , made him _feel_ incandescent. He watched, unblinking, as Rey’s legs shook, how her fingers dived into his hair, clenched tight, how her words were reduced to moans and mewls as she climaxed in Ben’s mouth.

Good eats.

He waited a long moment for Rey to recover before he climbed up her body, hiked a leg over his shoulder and in one smooth movement, thrusting hilt deep.

“You feel so good, Rey. You’re _so_ good.”

“I’m good?” Rey preened at his praise—she a glowing, happy, grabby thing.

“You are so good, Rey. This is ...,” Ben sighed into Rey’s neck as he fucked her. “They told me it was possible to get tired of your mate but Rey. _Rey_. I could do this forever. I’d give up all of Core for this, with you? How can I get tired of this?”

“I hope you don’t,” Rey whimpered, “please don’t, please, please, please.”

“Look at you,” Ben whispered, grabbing her other leg, hooking it over her shoulder, and pressing her thighs together. It became tighter, wetter. It was too much. “Can you smell how pleased I am?” He rubbed a thumb over the gland at the side of her neck, licked the one on her wrist, both puffy and delicious, places he no longer has to ignore because Rey was _his_.

“Yes, Alpha,” she purred.

Yes. He was going to die. Just like this.

The very thought of that he could die, inside of her, as ridiculous a thought it was, had Ben picking up his pace from a slow even tempo to thrusting into Rey staccato, the sound of skin on skin loud in the quiet cove.

“I–I’m so close,” Rey groaned, her hips coming off the ground to meet Ben’s.

Ben reached between them and thumbed at her clit until Rey was jerking under him, warmth surrounding him, gushy and wet. It was filthy. It was beautiful. Rey’s mouth fell open, her face a picture of ecstasy and it was all Ben needed. He groaned into his orgasm, filling Rey with everything he could give her before collapsing.

There was nothing but heavy breathing for a long moment before Rey broke the silence, laughing so hard Ben could feel her shaking under him. She kicked her legs out where they were trapped between them so she could wrap them around his waist.

Ben lifted his head and frowned. “I’ve been told there are moments where I’m actually a joy to be around. That I can make others laugh but...could you tell me what I did this time that has you laughing at me so hard?”

“I’m not laughing at you, you big puppy. I’m just—I’m giddy! Happy! Fucked out and giddy.”

“Well,” he said, sounding smug even to himself. “I’ve never made anyone giddy with my cock before but I like it. It’s doing it for me.”

Rey rolled her eyes and laced her hands behind Ben’s neck. “Such a romantic.”

Ben nipped her bottom lip. “I remember you saying that to me a while ago and you being a total sarcastic asshole about it.”

She shrugged one pale nude shoulder. “You deserved it.”

Ben huffed, a crooked smile forming on his lips. “Yeah, I did.”

“Do you want to know why I’m laughing?” Rey said, her lips twisted in a smirk, mischievous, and Ben was half tempted to tell her he didn’t care what she was laughing at as long as he could continue looking at her, this close, whenever he wanted. But she kissed the tip of his nose and he decided he could do both.

“Tell me, then,” Ben replied, looking down at his mate. His eyes flicked lower. The freckles. He wanted to trace each one with his tongue, see what pictures he could draw up, what lands he could map out, what–

“I love you,” Rey said softly.

His head snapped up. “I’m sorry?”

She dragged a hand through his hair, scratching at his scalp. “I love you, Benjamin Solo.”

He was awe-struck, stuck somewhere between brilliant, sparkling happiness and _stupid_. “Do you?” Because that was the only thing his dumb brain could think of over the roar of blood in his head.

“Yes.” She kissed him softly, reverently, like he was a thing to be adored. “Truly. Deeply.”

Ben’s heart thudded so hard that it hurt. “Rey...”

“I met this shifter…and I’ll tell you all about her one day, I must absolutely have to tell you about her one day, but she told me about how mating wasn’t about love, it was about the bond. That the bond could create a connection but it couldn’t create love.” Rey paused. “Look at me, Ben.”

Ben’s movements were slow because Rey’s confession was still ringing in his ears. “Wh–huh?” Rey grabbed his chin gently, forcing Ben to concentrate on her. Her and her lovely face. And her little nose. And those eyes and….

“This isn’t the bond speaking, Solo. It’s making me speak up, to be honest with you, tell you how I figured out what this confusing emotion inside of me all along meant. I love you because of you.” Rey paused again, this time looking down at Ben’s chest. “I can _feel_ you.”

Ben’s hand fluttered to his chest. He felt it. They’re heartbeats were completely synced. His next breath came out shuddered. “I never–I wanted it, I wished and prayed for it, but I never thought or expected that I could have this, actually have this with you. Thank you, Rey.”

His eyes fell shut and he lowered his face to hers, nuzzling affectionately. “Thank you.”

“You know what would be the best thank you?” Rey asked. Ben’s eyes were closed but he could feel when she pushed with her heels, rolled her hips, taking him deeper.

‘You really are impossible,” Ben shot back, as he slowly began to slide back into his mate.

“I know.”

“You like breaking rules don’t you, Ben?” Finn asked as he smacked Poe’s hands away. His mate was whispering _something_ in his ears that had Finn looking at him, abashed.

“What,” Ben started, “by not having some big fancy feast to end the Mating Moon Festival? None of those old decrepit wolves have listened to one thing I’ve said about their pageantry at every turn and as many times as I’ve told them to stop, I’m starting to think they are doing it to piss me off.”

“And you decided to get back at them by holding a picnic?” Lady Mi'yaric’s son, Mi’alanu, said from his own blanket. His mate Mirae had her head in his lap and a book of poems in her hand. “And inviting us _inside_ of the Dyad Pavilion? You are bold, my Lord.”

“Ben,” Ben stated warmly, firmly. “My name is Ben. And you all shared a very important day with us. I think that called for a little more of an intimate setting than that draft and dusty Great Assembly Room, yes?”

Just as the Mi’alanu had said, there were six couples sprawled out across the garden in the Dyad Pavilion enjoying the late summer sun. Today marked the final day of the Mating Moon Festival and soon, the couples who did not live in The Imperial Fortress would be traveling back to their own lands. Instead of having some fancy feast that would pry propriety and manners out of those who were just hours from dragging themselves out of lust craze, Ben and Rey decided upon a picnic. For one it was, as he said, more relaxing and easy going, but again, political ties are born on intimate connections, not stilted formalities as the feast would have set up.

Each couple was important—it was the very reason they were chosen. The Mi’alanu and Countess Mirae held connections with Avaal while Black Sun’s Jewel would be able to provide them intel from those who frequented her cathouse often. The only issue he foresaw was the group he’d labeled The _Tetrad_ –Armitage Hux, Rose and Old Se’haian heir, Vaylin Tirall et Valkorion and Kyp.

Rae Sloane, fortunately, hadn’t been as murderous as he’d anticipated. It was as if she knew before she arrived what her ward had done. Luckily, for greetings sake, since Rose was a Beta, there wasn’t a heat–craze that prevented it. Their mating site had been the open fields bordering on the outskirts of Core and it had taken the couple no time to meet her back in her suite. The servants had been warned it might get ugly, but there was nothing but laughter that came from Rae Sloane’s room.

The next day, the five of them, Rae Sloane, Hux, Rose, Ben and Rey, were to meet to discuss the new alliance and some other issues Rae Sloane explained as urgent. Something about a pair of visitors she’d received recently.

Not that Rae Sloane had ever been the issue—she was _an_ issue, just not _the_ issue. It had always been Vitiate. Zakuul’s relations with Core had been precarious at best. Vitiate was wealthy, unimaginably so, and had managed to sequester Zakuul’s strength outside of the power of Core. He had an unimaginable army, and it was by sheer luck alone they had not gone to war with them. Although Vitiate stated Zakuul’s loyalties lie with the power of the Dyad Couple, no one in Core trusted the Zakuul ruler as easily as he wished.

His daughter was another matter. Maybe Vaylin’s mating with a person belonging to Core’s inner court would help smooth over their relations.

Hopefully. Probably not.

Until then, they would work, furiously and swiftly, to strengthen what current relations they had. Starting with the Prince of Hoth. He glanced at the sky. They should be here soon. The thought made Ben smile.

“What are you all happy about?” Rey asked softly, her words only for Ben.

His gaze flicked down to her, soft around the edges, but tinted with worry.

Rey had grown lethargic and pale since they’d ventured out of the cave and into the Dyad Pavilion gardens. She was leaning against his back, using it as a brace as she worked a knife against a chunk of wood. Ben didn’t know what she was carving but he appreciated his mate’s skill with a knife. Or just her hands. He really liked her hands. She was good with them. _Heh_. He smirked inwardly.

“Nothing, my love,” Ben said, dismissing his train of thoughts. He needed to control his libido because the minute this picnic was over, Rey was getting in the bed. And that was final. “However,” he started. He pulled Rey to his side and reached for his wine chalice sitting on a low table near their blanket, raising it in the air. “I propose a toast!”

There was some good nature grumbling from the far blankets where Hux and Rose were more concerned with shoving their tongues down each other’s throat than enjoying the picnic, but they complied, detached their faces from one another, and joined everyone else as they raised their glass.

“A toast!” Ben began, “To new beginn—”

Then Rey promptly threw up all over his lap.

“You can’t save my sister and now you can’t tell me what’s going on with my mate? What good are you?” Ben roared, staring the healer down.

The healer bowed his head, distressed and backed out of the room. Rey looked at the retreating healer with pity before glaring at her mate. “Ben. Relax and stop yelling at the karking healers, they are doing their best! I’m just a little sick to my stomach. It’s not the end of the world.”

Ben grunted as if he didn’t hear her, pacing up and down the length of the healer room, glaring at the door.

Rey frowned. Finn had reminded her patiently that newly mated Alphas were a bit…possessive, and by a bit, he meant a whole fucking lot, but this was downright ridiculous. That was the _third_ healer Ben had scared out of the room and she’d hate to think what would happen to the next if they came back in without a remedy.

She was tired and her stomach wouldn’t stop rolling. Was it strange? Yes. A bit. Was it worth bringing down the entire Healing sector? Absolutely not.

The Mating Bond affected shifters at the soul level. The bond, once established, slowly drained shifters of the energy currently residing in their body, fusing it with the energy of their mate, then refilling them a new energy, one that signified their everlasting connection. So, yes, something affecting the soul could make newly mated shifters tired. It usually wore off because...well, newly mated shifters fucked a lot. Yet, it seemed like Rey’s recovery was slower than normal.

Jacen entered the room shortly after the healers left, looking just as drained of energy as Rey. He’d spent the majority of his time in his sister’s room interpreting messages from their mother on their journey here. Rey was happy for Ben and Jacen, to finally be able to welcome their mother back home after so many years.

Still, the toll of their sister’s situation was wearing on them, Jacen especially, as he continued to lend her as much energy as possible to aid in her recovery. She still wasn’t talking, never mind sleeping or eating enough. Her exterior wounds had healed but whatever plagued her mind was still wrecking havoc.

“I spoke with Han. Mother and her party are here. They should be announcing it any moment now, but I wanted to give you a heads up first,” Jacen said quietly. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, the bags under his eyes prominent in the afternoon sun.

Ben shifted his concern from his mate to his brother. “I would tell you to get some sleep but I doubt you would listen to me.”

Jacen offered him an incredulous snort. “The mother I haven’t seen in decades is minutes away. Of course I’m not going to sleep.”

“How is Jaina?” Rey asked, concerned heavy in her voice.

“She’s fine. She’s fine. I asked Rose and Paige to go...freshen her up. She’d be upset if she woke up and saw herself. I ...don’t know. But it’s fine. It’s—she’ll be fine.” He collapsed backwards, his head thudding softly against the wall. Then his gaze arched over to them. “But you’re asking questions when you should be _answering_ them. How was your mating?” the young mage said, his eyes eager.

“Jacen!” Ben said, aghast.

Jacen waved him off. “It’s not like I want details because that’s disgusting, but tell me about all the happy stuff. The gushy mushy stuff. Like,” and Jacen scooted his chair closer to Rey’s bed. “Did he cry? He cried didn’t he? What you don’t know about him is that he is a big crybaby. Gigantic! An emotional fucking mess! You should have heard him going on and on and on about you while we were helping him get dressed.”

“Jacen!” Ben tried again, his voice deeper, full of authority. Rey giggled because that wasn’t going to work on Jacen and Ben knew it.

“Well, he didn’t cry,” Rey started.

“Thank you!” Ben exclaimed.

“…the first night. The third night he sobbed like a baby,” Rey whispered.

“This is mutiny,” Ben mumbled, turning away from the both of them. “Treason.”

Rey looked up at him and grinned. “Yes. Yes it is.”

Jacen laughed at the both of them and for a moment, the weariness slid off of his face. He looked like the young man who had given her the bluntest shovel talk she’d ever had in her life. But suddenly, his smile dropped and his mouth parted open as he looked towards the door. “Ben…she’s here.”

Just as Jacen said that, the door opened and Zorri, Finn’s assistant, walked through. “My Lord and Lady Dyad. Honorable Maegis. Your envoy has arrived.”

Six people filed into the room after Zorri. Rey only recognized two of them—the former Alpha of Alderaan, Han, his face familiar from the time when her father would welcome Alphas from other villages into Takodana, and—

“Julien?”

The tall Arctic Wolf grinned as he peeled back the cloak of his traveling robes and crossed the room to stand by Rey’s bed. “Look at you, pup,” he said warmly, ruffling Rey’s hair like she was still sixteen.

“I’m not a pup!” Rey scowled trying to knock his hand away from his hair. “I’m an adult!”

“Yes. You are,” Julien started as he put his hand on Rey’s shoulder and squeezed with a familiarity that she hadn’t felt in years. “Coriander and Brenton would be so proud of you.”

Rey beamed and puffed out her chest in the sure way she always reacted when Julien recognized the wolf in her. She would always yearn for Julien’s recognition. It was like getting it from Coriander herself.

“But you’re still mangy,” Julien finished.

Rey’s smile dropped and Julien tipped his head back, his laughter booming around the room. Rey tried to fight her own laughter but eventually she gave in, pulling her brother in law down for a hug.

When Julien took a step back, Rey was greeted with Jacen sobbing into his mother’s hair. Ben stood right behind him, rubbing his back while blinking back tears of his own. Han looked over them fondly, trading a word with the other two shifters nearest him. The last figure stood in the back of the room, their head bowed.

Leia was the first to speak, her face flush with emotions. “I would come over there and greet you properly, Rey but…my child, he’s…”

Rey smiled back at her. “No, no. It’s fine. Please, take your time. It’s been a long time for them and I’m not going anywhere.”

“I would hope not. You won’t be able to leave the bed for at least another week or so. There is a reason your body is taking so long to recuperate,” the voice, decidedly feminine, said from the back of the room. That caught Rey’s attention, along with everyone else’s, their heads swinging to her.

Rey frowned. “What...what does that mean?” Rey bent her head in an attempt to see under her hood but to no avail. “You know why I am tired?”

The woman ignored her, instead giving Leia a sharp look. “Four mages in the room and you mean to tell me I’m the only one who has figured it out? I expect the battle magic user to be useless but you two?” She crossed her arms over her chest and exhaled slowly. “You were right. You were all fucking right. Gods be damned. _Fetan prevdack nimba,”_ she stated, her voice quivering with wonder.

Jacen gasp sounded like he’d swallowed his tongue. Leia gently detached herself from Jacen’s embrace and slowly made her way to the bed. “You’re certain?” she asked, looking back at the woman.

“Why are you asking me? See for yourself.”

Leia looked at Jacen and Jacen looked back at his mother before they closed their eyes, both reaching out to touch Rey. Rey drew back because, well it was weird, and nobody was telling her what was going on. She was about to ask what the hell when Jacen’s eyes popped back open, his face twisted with bewilderment.

Slowly, he turned to Ben, who was looking at them as if they’d all lost their minds. “Ben,” he said, frowning.

“Tell me,” Ben said firmly, his stance taught as if he were waiting for the worst news in the world. He reached out and slid his hand against Rey’s, intertwining their fingers. Rey was concerned now. More than concerned. She was just tired…it wasn’t like she was dying.

_Was she?_

Jacen’s frown morphed into a smile. “No, you’re not dying, Rey.”

Rey would ask later how Jacen knew what she was thinking. But that wasn’t her concern. “If I’m not dying then–“

“You’re…stars, Rey.” He glanced at Ben, then at his mother, who nodded. “You’re pregnant.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People  
> [ Allya ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Allya)
> 
> Places
> 
> [ Aurilia ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Aurilia)  
> [ Frangawl Cult ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Frangawl_Cult)  
> [ Star Temple](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Temple)  
> [ Infinity Gate ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Infinity_Gate)
> 
> Things
> 
> ayitshintshi is xhosa for unchanged


	22. tiger inside

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you get a breather in? Because here we go...

Ben had been a late bloomer, which was subjective, although taken as fact by the elders. As the only child of the Skywalker-Organa-Amidala legacy, he believed that there could not have been a fast enough time for him to bloom that was pleasing to anyone. His mother wanted her child to stay a child, her uncle wanted him to grow beyond the reasonable, Han just wanted him to be happy and healthy but in a way that spoke to Ben’s eventual ascension as Alpha. His grandparents' legacy loomed over him, a monolith of unreachable expectations.

And he’d managed to fail all of them for a time. He hadn’t been the fastest, the strongest, or the boldest. He had been smaller than most, a rangy, ungainly child with his father’s nose not yet suited for his face, while lacking the grace of his mother’s clan.

The village elders made it a habit to call him runt, as if that was some sort of motivation to look or be different. To them, if Ben didn’t get his shit together, he would be lucky to not find himself out of the outskirts of the village, begging for food, wishing for shelter. It didn’t matter that Ben was a brilliant strategist, and that the other wolves, even the tall and strong ones like Kuruk or Vicrul, followed him around like apprentices.

That didn’t matter.

An Alderaan wolf had to be strong, they had to be fast and smart and brave. Anything other than that was not an Alderaan wolf.

_A path to the sky._

Ben’s natural gregariousness is what saved him. Ap’lek taught him how to use his lanky body to his advantage, developing his speed and flexibility. Ushar taught him grappling and ground work. Cardo taught him weapons, Krunk helped him gain so much mass that his clothes stopped fitting, and Ren, their spar master brought it all together. So by the time Ben reached his seventeenth birthday, his metamorphosis from pup to man to Alpha complete, he had molded himself into something to behold, something fearsome, someone who could lead Alderaan.

With that, he always knew that it would get him the best of the best. The best living, the best fighters at his side, and especially the best mate. He imagined himself being a father, being the father that Snoke was never was and what Han had attempted to be.

Yet, he knew that dream would never come to fruition when he was chosen as Supreme Alpha of Core during the Blood Moon. The chances were too slim, too rare for two Alphas to conceive.

It was fine.

It was a sacrifice.

Maybe he could take an Omega lover.

But then…

But then _Rey_ happened and suddenly being with anyone else, even if it were for offspring purposes, was no longer anything he could stomach. The Blood Moon called for union. The politics of that union were not always monogamous. Holdo had had two lovers other than Grungar while Revan fancied a young beta girl before Bastila Shan beat both of them in combat—just because.

He did not have that same compulsion. Rey was enough. Worth the sacrifice. A revisioning of a dream, the artistic snap of a wrist that rendered a sun where a moon had once been.

She was _enough_.

_Jacen’s frown morphed into a smile. “No, you’re not dying, Rey.”_

_“If I’m not dying…then–“_

_“You’re…Jesu, Rey, you’re pregnant.”_

“I’m…I’m _what_?”

Ben’s hands were trembling. Everything in the room disappeared, the light shining through the window, the quiet murmuring from those in the room. The white faded to black, edges blurred, until it was just Rey and he left.

His bond-mate looked down at her hands, this incredulous wonder shining in her eyes. Slowly, she lowered them to her flat belly, fingers hovering as if the answer to every question she’d ever asked lied there. Rey’s gaze rose to meet Ben’s, tears lining her bottom lashes, her bottom lip quivering. Without words, a shift in her scent, a look in her eyes, Rey called to him and Ben answered, crossing the room, and staring at her as if she were something rare and magnificent. Because she was.

The black lifted, sound rushed in and Ben was back in the room with everyone else. Jacen was at his side, a goofy watery smile on his face. “I–I thought this couldn’t happen. The proclaiment. Rey. She’s barren. How…” he said, his hands hovering over Rey’s, almost afraid to touch her. To touch anything, as if this could be a dream. “Are you really—”

Jacen nodded, slow, jerky, as if someone were yanking his chin down. “Ben. She _is_ with child. I can...Gods, I can sense life force within her. Faint but it’s there. She isn’t very far along, must have conceived during your mating.” Jacen placed his hands at the small of Ben’s back and pushed him forward, even closer to Rey. “You’re going to be a father, Ben,” he whispered.

“A father…” All of Ben’s dreams washed over his skin like a baptismal of new hope. In a surge of emotion, Ben crawled into Rey’s bed, trucking Rey under his chin and wrapping his arms around her. He paused, panicked, and loosened his grip, rearranging her so that her arms laid protectively over her stomach. Ben had absolutely no idea what he was doing but Kylo did and his wolf whispered instinct into his ear. _Protect. Honor. Provide. Worship. Ador._ “We’re going to be parents?” he asked, looking down into crystalline eyes, his voice sotto, quiet with wonder.

The scents in the room shifted, withdrew, until Ben knew it truly was just the two of them in the room.

The click of the door closing changed something and the look of happiness on Rey’s face morphed into something dark, something full of worry.

“Ben,” she gasped. “What are we going to do?”

Ben blinked down at his mate, not understanding the shift in her scent or the fear in her voice. “What do you mean?”

“I’m pregnant. I am not _supposed_ to get pregnant.”

The entirety of Rey’s pregnancy flashed before his eyes and there was a solid thump of dread in his chest. But this was his job. If Rey was scared, he would destroy the cause of her fear.

He exhaled, laid his cheek to the crown of her hair. “It’ll be okay. We’ll be okay.”

“But—”

“Trust me. Do you trust me?”

Rey’s eyes slid shut and she nodded. “I do. I trust you, Ben.”

“Good.” He inhaled more of her scent as he sank deeper into Rey’s covers. “We’ve been through too much not to celebrate this miracle. Now, just for now, let's just be happy, yeah?”

Rey laughed quietly. “A miracle.” Rey paused and drew her bottom lip between her teeth, worrying it. “Your mother’s timing is wonderful.”

Ben's face split in a smile, the smile so wide his eyes disappeared into little half crescents. “I don’t know how much more good news I can take today. My heart feels like it’s going to burst.”

His mate held his hand to her chest. “I know,” Rey said.

They sat there quietly, embracing each other, enjoying the peace that came with silence until Rey pulled back. “Alright, alright. I’m not going anywhere. Go spend some time with your mother. I’m tired and gross and I can’t sleep with you being all cute and huggable and loveable and—just…go, shoo, doggy.”

“Did you just,” Ben’s mouth flopped open,” call me a _doggy_?”

Rey nodded, completely straight faced and if he didn’t love her so damn much—

“I am _not_ a dog.”

Rey hummed. “If I scratch you behind your ear, your tail,” she said, eyes flicking down between his legs, and then back up, “is going to wag.”

Ben huffed out an indignant laugh. “You are going to pay for that tonight, young lady.”

“Are you going to spank me?” Rey said, her eyes lighting up. She immediately clamped a hand over her mouth. “I–I, ugh. Hormones,” she finished with a sheepish grin.

“Oh, sweetheart. I _like_ hormones.”

“Have you heard back from your father yet?” Kyp said as he flawlessly worked through a form seven _juyo_ kata with a staff, his shirtless torso slick with sweat. He swung the staff above his head, rotating it sharply before finishing off an imaginary dummy with a thrust to the neck. “It’s been days.”

Vaylin answered with a grunt as she looked over a few ledgers she’d brought with her to Core. Finance was her thing—there was something ruthless about numbers and how they moved through a system. Her mentor thought her fascination with it was odd–she’d have advisors for that but fuck if she was going to sit back and let other people know more about her empire’s money than she did.

So.

It would make sense that those in her kingdom knew she knew how to read ledgers. But these, she thought, glancing down at the scrolls laid out over her guest suite table, these were barely concealed.

Large amounts of funds were being circulated around the Eternal Empire to an unknown merchant for an clearly fabricated cause. She could smell banthashit a mile away and this was rank week old banthashit. What worried her the most was that Thexan, her most trusted advisor, her _brother_ , had signed off on most of the purchases. That didn’t make sense. Not at all. She was about to open another ledger when the tip of a staff poked her in the back.

“You’re not paying attention to me.”

Vaylin looked up with a bright smile. “Yes, I am, love. I heard everything you said.”

Kyp raised the staff back to his side. “Liar. You want to know how I know you’re lying? Because you told me if I asked you about your father again you were going to stuff this staff down my throat. Yet here I am, with no staff down my throat.”

“No,” Vaylin snapped, huffing, “I haven’t heard from my father yet, Kyp. Seeing you asked me that two hours ago, and you have not seen a messenger deliver me anything, you clearly know I haven’t.” Vaylin frowned and looked back down at the ledger, feeling Kyp’s heavy glare on her. She ignore it until he flopped down in front of her table, laid his stupid arms across her work.

“We can’t stay here forever, Vay! I mean, we could, it would be nice, you know, being in Core proper, but we shouldn’t have to. You are the heir of the Eternal Empire. It is yours, granted by The Spire. Your father cannot take that away from you. And he cannot deny you entrance back into court.”

“I know that,” Vaylin said quietly.

“Then what are you going to do?”

“I—I,” she paused, wrapped a hand around his wrist. “Do you like it here? Really?”

Kyp shrugged. “Yeah, sure.”

“Okay, well. I was thinking of accepting Rey’s offer. To be the High Treasurer. My father, he isn’t an old man. He’s ornery but not old, and there are many years to come before I am given his seat. In the meantime, I can serve Core in a way my father never would. He couldn’t imagine a power stronger than his. Still can’t.” Vaylin poked ledger.

Kyp scooted around the table until he could sit side by side with his mate. “What’s so important in these books anyways?”

“These are the financial records of Meidou. It’s a trading company of Core’s East, mostly between Zakuul, Endor, and Avaal. There are some other settlements involved such as those within the Bryx sector but they are far outside of Core. I know each and every last merchant by name. By face. Their children’s names and their children’s faces. I have no idea who this is.”

She rotated the ledger towards her mate, pointing to an entry titled _Iustus_. “Iustus means righteous but this doesn’t look very righteous.”

Kyp squinted at the figure listed, then whistled. “That’s a lot of money, Vay. Too much money.” He frowned. “I’ve only seen money move like that in one situation.”

That’s why she loved him so much. He was dumb as a box of rocks, but was street smart, the kind of intuition that her noble upbringing didn’t quite have. “Yeah. An army is being commissioned.”

“Is she okay?” Ben said as he hovered outside of the Jaina’s room. He tried peeking past the door as the others filed out. His mother, the last of the group, pushed at his chest, closing the door behind her.

Ben grabbed Leia by the shoulders, his eyes lined with worry, with hope, with the unknown. His sister had been in that state for far too long and he worried about her, greatly. The healers said she was fine physically, that it was her mind. And that was what caused him so much grief. Jaina was a brat, but she was damned smart, damned powerful. To know that they’d found a way to shut that down, to trap her in her own head with their devil magery…he’d _never_ forgive them.

“Your face, my darling, is dark. Brighten up,” his mother said with a small smile. “She’s awake, she’s just very tired. It’ll be awhile before she can have visitors for extended amounts of time. Maz is a little worse for wear—the ride here was hard and they didn’t feed her at all. And Chewie is raising all kinds of hell, so I’ve just blocked visitation for the remainder of the day.”

“I’m just glad she’s okay. I wouldn’t have been able to face Finn or Uncle Chewie if something had happened to Maz,” he said, his eyes fluttering to Jaina’s door one last time before he reached down and pulled his mother’s hands into his. “Mom.”

“My baby,” she murmured gazing up at him. It was like no time had passed at all. She looked, not older, but more exhausted, as if the time they’d spent apart had been terrible for the both of them. “It’s been a very long time, Mother. I don’t really know what to say to you. I don’t know how to…”

Leia didn’t look as lost as he felt. She hummed, squeezing his hands with a rhythmic pressure that soothed him. “Do you remember when you were a boy and you wanted me to teach you how to be a mage?”

Ben smiled faintly, remembering how incensed he’d been with his mother when she said she couldn’t teach him such a thing. Battle magic—the Force—was one thing, he had the talent, the legacy, to access that. It was in his blood to manipulate the energy in everything, especially the heat of anger and death. Magery, that was something born of the soul. He would first have to feel it. And Ben had never felt it. Not once.

“I was mad. And you hugged me and let me be mad until I wasn’t upset anymore.”

“I’ve kept up with you, you know I have. Jacen and Jaina are the biggest gossips this side of Core! I might have had a metaphysical connection with those two, but love, it was your face, your spirit, and bravery that has kept me going all these years. One of the most horrifying things that has ever happened to me was having to leave my children. And you, my love, my darling baby boy, was the one who gave me the courage to do it. You were my rock, and you still are. What are words, Ben?” She raised her hand and placed it on his chest, just over his heart. “I feel you, my love. I always have. It’s as if we haven’t spent a day apart.”

“Mom,” he whimpered before pulling her into a hug, squeezing her so tight she gasped.

“So strong!” she exclaimed, slapping at his arms. “All this strength is the reason you’re going to be a father soon, eh?” Leia said, her voice light and teasing.

Ben let her go with a shy laugh, his hand fluttering to the back of his neck. “Yeah...I—I never thought I could...” Ben paused, looked down, the corners of his mouth pulling south. “You know that Rey is...that she is...” he trailed off, his voice low, fear laced. “If anyone finds out—”

“I told you to find love, Ben. And you did. It does matter what that love looks like or if others approve or not. She makes you happy?”

He nodded sharply.

“Then that is all that matters. The gods chose you, the both of you, and I know and I trust you two will protect each other. It won’t be easy but our lives have never been.”

His mother was the strongest women he’d ever known until he met Rey, and well, fuck him—to be blessed with these women in his life? He did not deserve them.

“Speaking of figuring it out,” came a voice from across the hall. Finn was leaning against the wall, staring at the two with a warm, but amused smile. “The meeting is about to start and everyone has arrived in the High Council room, Your Mighty Alphaness. ” He grinned, eyes jutting to Leia for a moment, before taking off.

Ben only stopped himself from rolling his eyes by the grace of his training. “Leia, I would request your group to join us in the Archives for this meeting. There is information you have that would be helpful.”

Leia frowned. “Do you really want me in your political sphere? I’m sure you remember I’m quite the politician. Most Alphas shake their finger at that.”

“Oh, absolutely!” Ben laughed. “Also, I’ll need you around to keep Han from killing me when I actually enforce my plan!”

It was cold in the High Council room. It was _always_ cold in the High Council room. Finn looked at the fire and wished it would do its job. It seemed ornamental in fighting the bite of the chill in the air even as it coated everyone in an orange glow. He thought about briefly moving closer to it, maybe to warm his hands, but their meeting was full under swing and he didn’t want to interrupt it by being needy. Instead, he slipped his cold hand into Poe’s pocket. The Mandalore Alpha smiled at him briefly before redirecting his attention to the speaker.

“From Maz’s intel from her unfortunate...stay in Dathomir, there seems to be a large number of First Order and mages intermingling in what Dathomirians call the “Den”,” Julien reported from his seat at the table, glancing at Leia for confirmation. He continued when she nodded. “Which we all know is very strange because one of the First Order tenants is the extermination of mages. To find them working with them in any capacity seems contradictory.”

“They’ve used them to execute members of Takodana as well as kidnap members from Mandalore and Endor. Their last attempt was on the Alpha Prime of Core, the High Steward, and a renowned apocrathist,” Phasma stated. “Which is also strange. Did they force Maz to make anything for them?”

Finn shook his head.

“Although I’m relieved she was retrieved without harm and this is no offense to you, High Steward, but her kidnapping wasn’t the largest blow Core could have taken.”

Finn shrugged. “No offense taken, Phas. Mother didn’t say anything about them forcing her to do anything. I believe it may be because they didn’t have a chance to. You guys moved pretty quickly to get her rescued, Han, Nico, Julien, Leia and…” Finn’s eyes narrowed as he looked at th

e fifth member of their group present. “And I’m sorry, forgive me, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Re—” she paused. “Red,” the woman said. “My name is Red.”

“Red,” Finn repeated, gazing at her face. “I thank you for rescuing my mother. Doing what I couldn’t.”

All five bowed their heads in response.

“Because the First Order has always been, historically, insane, their actions, while uncustomary to their creeds, are not surprising. They’ve declared war, so by gathering up dark mages, they believe they will have an edge on us,” Ben stated from the head of the table. “It’s safe to assume that Dathomir and the Den are two separate entities? Dathomir is an ally of Alderaan and customarily sides with them.”

“I would say that’s a very safe assumption,” Han answered. “Although, Dathomir is more of a sister town than an ally. They will make their own decisions but I would consider them friend for now.”

“Thank you, Han. And while we are counting all of our eggs...” Ben looked further down the table. “Vaylin, any word from your father?”

Vaylin’s mate, Kyp, looked at her pointedly and Finn managed to keep his face straight when Vaylin rolled her eyes at him. “Not as yet, my Lord. However, it shouldn’t be much longer. As my mate reminded me on _several_ occasions, my father may not like this arrangement, but there is only so much he can do. If you’re asking if he is an ally or not, for the time being, I would consider him as so by duty. If my investigation proves otherwise, I will inform you immediately.”

“Either way, we’ll find out sooner or later,” Ben said. He gave Finn a look, which Finn understood. He stood from his seat and ruffled around in his bag, looking for something. When he found it, he pulled out the scroll and unrolled it.

“As you all know very well, Core is the creation of the original treaty created and implemented by _Exorsa_ , the first Blood Moon couple, Revan and Bastila Shan. That treaty, technically, only extends to the five clans. Those within our borders were included de facto. We propose a new treaty, one to renew our ties with each of the new Alpha leaders as well as inner-border settlements and outlier cities, such as Csilla and Dathomir.”

“Dathomir? Maybe. Csilla?” Red snorted. “They won’t sign that even on a cold day in hell.”

“We aren’t expecting them to. It will be required of the five clans to renew this vow but at the very least this will allow us, one, an ambassador and a small occupation in each of the settlements via negotiations, as well as allow us to test any discontentment amongst them. It’s fine to have your allies on paper; it’s another thing to know.”

“I’m telling you—Csilla is not going to allow you _within_ their borders without a blood right.”

Finn craned his head towards her again. “That’s an antiquated rumor. Core ambassadors have been allowed within Csilla walls before.”

Red glared right back at him. “Did they come back alive?”

The only answer was silence.

“Nonetheless, we have to try and we have to move fast. The First Order has been aggressive in their attacks and I don’t want them to catch us unaware again. This time we will take the offensive.” Ben paused. “Speaking of taking the offensive…” Ben’s gaze moved from his mother to Han. “Did Julien make you aware of our plans for Alderaan?”

Han groaned and a hand came to the bridge of his nose. “Yes. And I’ll tell you as I told him—that’s stupid. I am “dead”, kid! And you want me to waltz back in there, tap an elder on the shoulder and go “Just kidding!” and you think it will go smoothly?

Ben chuckled and clapped his father on the shoulder. “You’ve been gone so you’re largely unaware of how I ruled Alderaan. On the seventh anniversary of your supposed death, I invited the elders to my home for a more private ceremony.”

“Fuck. I forgot about the death anniversary ceremonies,” Han groaned.

“Tradition, Dad. However, midway through the ceremony, I charged them each with treason.”

A multitude of heads snapped towards his. Poe parked his head on his fist and pretended to be bored. He of course had heard this story a million times. Finn didn’t look all that surprised by the proclamation either.

“Why did I charge them with treason?” Ben’s smile was slow and easy. “By stating it was sacrilegious to honor an Alphan leader as dead when they were not. Furthermore, I would graciously dismiss such charges and due punishment—death—only if they agreed with my plan.”

Han started, then paused, his brow raising.

Ben smiled. “We have a new law now. Any former Alpha of Alderran has just cause to fight for their seat.”

“And...they agreed because most Alphas are not alive to reclaim what was once theirs.”

“Correct. If you want it, you can have it back, all of it. You will be allowed to challenge Dal Konur for his seat. You just have to want to.”

Han still looked conflicted but Finn understood. Ben was playing a dangerous game. If Ben sent an alive Han Solo back to Alderaan explicitly to challenge Dal Konur, who was still possibly connected to the First Order, it would send a very clear message to those amassing against them that simply stated: We know.

Han must have realized that no matter how skilled or talented Dal Konur was, he was no match for him. There were very few, young or old, who were. “If I were to do this, _if_ —I propose we enact VENIAT. I remember Dal Konur from your childhood. He seemed like a decent boy, maybe too blinded by his father’s ambition to realize his own good. Just like with you, maybe we just need to sever that tie. With _VENIAT_ , he’ll retain some power and a sizable portion of command under me. I’ll need generals if this comes to war.”

“Whatever you think is best. Just keep him close. You’ve always been excellent at molding good men.” He and his father shared a look, Ben ducking his head to avoid smiling like a fool. “I’ll travel with you, show a united front. Mother, and anyone else who would wish to join us, can—”

“I’m not leaving,” Leia and Red said at the same time. Leia glanced at Red and Red glanced back, both falling into a furious yet silent conversation.

“You don’t want to join your mate?” Julian asked, brow cocked.

“He’s a big wolf, he’ll be fine,” Leia said, shooting him a look. Han simply threw up his hands and mumbled under his breath. “Rey is going to need someone around and I –” she gasped when her friend elbowed her, “ _Red_ and I are the best qualified.”

“I humbly request to be by her side,” Red said, her eyes wide and desperate.

Her passion confused Finn. She’d _just_ met Rey. Hours ago.

He glanced at Red again. _Really_ glanced at her. Her eyes met his and flicked away.

Wait. Wait. Wait a damn minute. He looked at her face, her build, her tanned skinned...

“You’re _fucking_ kidding me, right?” He stood, chair toppling back and clattering to the floor. He slapped his hands to the wood and leaned across the table. Poe tugged on his sleeve, surprise and confusion all in his scent, but Finn yanked out of his grasp. Red, on the other hand backed up, a look on her face like he was insane. “Say, lady, where did you say you were from again?”

“I didn’t,” she bit out.

“It’s fine. I already know,” he snarled.

“High Steward? The cause of this?” Ben asked slowly.

Ben would figure it out in a second. It was his job, right? Finn plopped down, arms across his chest, glaring. “You really thought the name Red was a good one? Please.”

This “Red” curled her lip up at him. “And who the hell are you?” she asked

He gave her a once up and down, a long moment to come out and say it herself. When she didn’t, he scoffed. “I’m only your daughter’s best friend and her only confidant in Takodana.”

You could hear a womp rat piss on a cotton ball.

“I’m sorry,” Ben said, blinking. “What did you just say?”

“Reyn Kenobi. This is fucking Reyn Adishrey Kenobi.”

The room remained quiet until for Jacen, who began laughing so hard tears streamed from his eyes and down his face.

“Maybe I’m missing the funny part,” Paige muttered to Rose.

“I get that every village has their secrets but this is _ridiculous_ ,” Jacen said once he got himself together. “You’re telling me this is Rey’s long lost mother? Who was brought in along with _my_ long lost mother, who just so happened to drag along Rey’s long lost brother in law, who dragged in my father, who was…you guessed it! Long and lost? ” Jacen started to laugh again, barely able to get his words out. “They will be writing about this fucked up clan for eons! No wonder those outside of Core laugh at us!” He stood and began to walk from the table, his hands around his middle. Ben stopped him with a hand around his wrist.

“Where are you going?” He sounded panicked and lost. Like the last place he wanted to be was in that room. Finn felt a little bad for him. They all knew he and Rey would be inheriting a chaos but this was beyond that. It was just a mess.

“I’m going to go check up on my sister before any other life changing secrets are revealed. I’m not sure if Core can survive them! Let alone I!”

“You should be resting.”

Jaina peeked open an eye then grunted. “I’ve been in a perpetual unsleep for weeks. How much more rest can I get?”

“You didn’t actually sleep much Jaina. Staring at the corner of your room muttering about the dark side of the force doesn’t mean you are resting.”

She watched as her twin brother came closer, pulling up a chair and setting it beside her bed. The room still smelled strongly of burnt rosemary and sage—a burnoff of mentalistic magery. The scent was heavy in the room but it mixed strongly with Jacen’s scent, pungent and floating, lavender-like.

“You helped Mama didn’t you?”

“Had to! It was draining me dry trying to keep you tethered to your mind,” Jacen said, his voice a touch playful. He leaned forward, two elbows digging into her mattress. “How do you feel?”

“I’m not tired. I’m more…confused. It’s hard telling what’s real and what’s not in some moments. Some feel present, others feel far off, disconnected to memory.”

“Prophetic?”

“Maybe? It’s not making much sense. Images keep fluttering around my head and they are disjointed. If I can put them together, make them make sense, I think they’ll go away. ”

“Well,” Jacen said, his smirk wry. “I can tell you what’s real, although you might not like some of it.”

“Oh, brother of mine, what I’ve missed in dream land?” Jaina sniffed. “Come on with it.”

“Let’s see.” Jacen held up a finger. “Your brother is good and mated now. Happily, even. Surprise there, huh?”

“With that scavenger rat? I knew it was going to work out—he had that look in his eyes. The same he had with Hyo Ren. Gross.” She paused. “Then Ben is really okay with everything?”

“Yep,” Jacen said, popping his lips. “And that “scavenger rat” is now pregnant with your niece or nephew.”

“She’s not a rat,” Jaina said, deflating. She was territorial, she knew that, but Rey, well. she seemed...different from the other shifters who’d approached her brother in hopes of becoming the mate of the Alpha of Alderaan. Advantageous asstwits. “How bad is Ben freaking out?”

“He’s taking it pretty well. Mom isn’t. She might be more overprotective than Ben is. Ah, that reminds me. Rey’s mother is alive…and in the other room. Keep that a secret for now. Finn and her are already doing wonderfully together. And by that I mean she wants to skin him alive and he wants to drown her in a lake. ”

At the mention of Finn’s name, Jaina’s face fell. “He’s…”

Her brother gave her a sympathetic tilt of his head before taking a hand into his. “You already know the answer to that.”

“I always knew that would happen,” she admitted, sighing. “I don’t know why I held on for so long.”

“Valin is still available.”

With what little strength she had, she slapped her brother across his arm. “I wake up out of a dark mage coma and you’re still spouting nonsense about Valin.”

“That’s my job. To annoy you with nonsense,” he said cheekily.

Jaina made to hit him again but the sound of her stomach growling stopped her.

“They said if you were healing correctly, your hunger would come back quickly, and by the sounds of it, furiously,” Jacen said, his face scrunched in mock disgust. “You think you’ll be fine here till I get back?”

“I’m a grown woman... of course I’ll be okay.”

“Good. I’ll send in Jagged just in case. He'll be your guard at the door until you are well enough to travel back to your suite.”

“Guard, smard. Just get me some damn food.”

Jacen rolled his eyes, “Right away, Princess,” he said, sounding very much like their father.

As he walked out, another shifter—Jagged—walked in. Jaina sniffed. It was always the first thing she did when she met someone new, it wasn’t an uncommon practice. He was a wolf shifter, Beta, but a rarer breed of wolf than what was normally found in Core. His wolf smelled familiar in essence. She took another sniff and understood.

“You’re Nirauan, maybe Csillaian...but your scent smells strongly of Dathomir,” she stated. “Yet, despite the possibilities, you are not a mage.”

The shifter paused as he shut the door behind him, a scarred brow lifting. “How did you know?”

Jaina grinned. “I’m a good freaking mage, that’s how. Plus, I’ve got a nose like a bloodhound.”

Jagged nodded slowly before leaning against the door. “Good to know.”

“Why are you in Core? They tend to only send tributes. Are you a Beta tribute? Wouldn’t be the first time.” She glanced him up and down. He had a solid figure, broad shoulders and narrow hips; one that looked like it was honed by hard work and sparring. Stubble lined his square chin and his face looked like it was easy to smile. He proved it by breaking out into a grin.

“No,” Jagged laughed. “I’m not a tribute. I’m a part of your mother’s entourage. I’ve been her bodyguard for the last few years.” He glanced up at her, then back down quickly. “You look like her.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” she asked.

“It’s good,” he said resolutely. “Your mother talks about you a lot, you and Jacen and Ben. I feel as if I’ve known you my entire life,” he laughed, hand cupping his nape. “She’s missed you, never stopped talking about how she missed you, so I’m glad she finally found her way back to you all. When she heard you were sick, the floor almost caught on fire with her pacing. It would have taken an army to keep her away.”

It was nice. A mother’s devotion.

“I never wanted her to come back,” Jaina said softly. Jagged tilted his head in confusion, his brows furrowed deep, his lips pulled down at the corners. “Not that I didn’t miss my mother. I missed her fiercely. Her hugs, her smile, her scent...but…her mate, our guardian, was not good to her. If she came back, then she was in a definitive place, a known place, somewhere he could get to her, exile or not. I just wanted her safe,” she finished quietly.

Jagged walked up to her bedside and suddenly kneeled down until they were eye to eye. “Your mother is safer now than she ever was before. I promise to protect her with my very last breath.”

Jaina pulled her chin in. “What’s your deal? You her son or something?”

His easy smile returned as he stood his full height again. “No, no. She was just really good to me. I was born in Nirauan but I grew up in The Den–you were born away from Dathomir, so you don’t know. It’s…horrendous. When we went to rescue Maz I noticed nothing had changed and it hit me hard. Your mother, she hired me just because I asked, desperately, for help. To escape. I don’t even think she really needed the protection but she said my energy reminded her of Ben. She saved my life.”

“It’s that bad?”

Jagged looked away and out of the solitary window in Jaina’s healing room. “Orphans—that’s how I ended up there after my parents died in a Dathomirian-Chiss mage skirmish. Part of the Old Way says something really vague about the fate of orphans. So, I became a candidate for _chosa ovladaci prevek.”_

“Complete control,” Jaina murmured.

“Yeah. That comes with prophecy layering training and I don’t think I would have survived it. And even if I did, I would never be me...ever again.”

Something flashed across Jaina’s mind, so fast and so hard, it hurt. She screwed her eyes shut as the vision took root. When it ended, she gasped, her hand coming to her head. _Was that real?_ She looked around the room, the edges of reality coming back into focus. _Was that real?_

Jagged was at her side in a flash. “Lady Jaina, are you okay?” He pulled her hands from her forehead and the tips of her fingers were blue. “I–I’m going to get Master Jacen. I’ll–I’ll—”

“No,” she gasped. “No! Take me to Ben,” Jaina demanded as she began to push the covers back. Her garment was thin and Jagged turned his head away. He grabbed a thick robe off a hook off the wall and pushed it towards her. Jaina accepted it with a quiet thank you.

Together, they rushed down the hall but after Jaina stumbled for the third time, her legs weak and wobbly from disuse, Jagged picked her up and carried her the rest of the way. They came to the door of the healer alcove and Jagged had a guard open it. He grimaced as he looked outside.

“Lady Jaina, it’s raining.”

Jaina inhaled and set her shoulders. “It’ll be fine, let’s go.”

Ben sighed deeply. Finn and Reyn were still arguing and battle lines had been drawn in the High Council room. Poe backed his mate, while Phasma and Hux followed in a show of solidarity. Siv and Toben pretended to not be there. Leia naturally backed up her best friend, while Han and Julien tried to stay out of it.

Page and Rose were actually doing their job, drawing up names for ambassadors.

The issue, still thirty minutes after it started?

“I already explained to you a thousand, you brazen idiot, I had no choice!”

Reyn leaving her family.

“I don’t care,” Finn growled. “You have no idea—none!–what she went through because she didn’t have any family around her. How your psychotic brothers hunted her down like a wild animal. She should have had someone there for her!”

Some of the anger left Reyn’s face. “She did, you dummy. She had you! She had Maz, and Chewie, and Tionne, and Julien, and that entire damn village. She didn’t need me!”

“We were pale substitutes for a real mother,” Julien said, his first offering towards the argument. “However, she’s right, Finn. Rey wasn’t alone. You have to understand why she did what she did. Trust me—it was hard for me to come to grips with it myself. But now I have, I understand.”

“Great. _You_ explain it to Rey, then. Explain to, not grown up Rey, but the young woman—girl, child!–who lost her entire family in one night and thought she had no one left. Explain how her mother was tra-la-la’ing in fucking Dathomir while Rey took on the First Order by herself, year after year after year.” Finn looked away, his jaw hard and his eyes angry. “Because I’m not.”

“I had no reason to think they would be after her, Finn. I thought I’d removed that threat,” Reyn offered quietly, pitifully.

“Checking in on her every once in a while would have fixed you “thinking”, wouldn’t it?”

“Finn,” Leia called placatingly. “Don’t you think you’re being a little hard on her?”

Finn cut his eyes hard at her. “Oh, the chief of the “mothers who abandoned their children” clan has spoken. Let me try and be nicer, then!”

Leia’s anger flared, an acrid shift in her scent as she stared at Finn in shock. Han, shot to standing, outraged, sputtering, while Ben rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Look here, slick! You don’t talk to my mate like that!”

“And all hail the mighty chief of deadbeat dads!”

Ben understood Finn’s anger, even if it was misdirected and uninformed and thoughtless and...wrong. If anyone took ten steps back, it did look like that’s what Han, Leia, and Reyn had done. However, they would never come eye to eye screaming at each other. He didn’t want to yell or command them to _shut the fuck up_. Finn’s anger came from his loyalty for Rey, and Reyn’s from guilt but if he let them continue at this, hacking away at each other’s feelings, they’d never get anywhere.

Rey had told him something about a gentle touch before sharp claws but he was losing his fucking patience.

“Finn,” Ben tried, “Han is right. You’ve overstepped.”

“I haven’t said anything that isn’t true,” Finn rejoined petulantly.

“You don’t even know what you’re talking about, you little shit,” Nico hissed.

He sighed. “Nico, please,” Ben said.

“How dare you talk to my mate that way?” Poe shouted, puffing his chest up.

“Poe…control yourself, please, ” Ben directed to his First Captain. For fuck’s sake he should be the responsible one!

“Never mind her! How dare you let your mate talk to _my_ mate that way?!” Han bellowed.

Okay. Obviously Rey’s approach wasn’t going to work. He _had_ tried.

“EVERYONE! SIT DOWN! SHUT UP!”

His exclamation brought the room to an immediate halt. _Good! Good I hope they don’t utter another word!_ “This is the High Council room where we are supposed to discuss strategies for a war looming over our heads and you are letting your personal feelings interrupt it!” He turned to Finn. “She left, she’s back, deal with it.” He turned to Reyn. “You’ll have to tell Rey yourself, because none of us are going to. Deal with it.” He turned to Han. “People have perception that no one will ever be able to change. You and Leia—”

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered, throwing a hand up while the other rubbed his temples. “I know. Deal with it. I got it.”

“Well, good.” He tugged at the lapels of his shirt. “Now,” he huffed, “can we get back to the—”

The door burst open before Ben could finish his sentence. The young man he’d recognized from his mother’s entourage was standing at the door, soaking wet, Jaina shivering and cold in his arms. Leia was out of her seat the fastest, followed by Han and Nico.

“Jagged,” Nico said, staring at him from over Leia’s shoulder. “What is the meaning of this?”

“She–she,” he said, his teeth clattering.

“She what, Jagged?” Leia yelled, upset. “What were you thinking? She is unwell!”

“Don’t yell at him, Mother, please,” she pleaded.

“Do you want me to yell at you instead?”

“I had a vision!” Jaina said before their mother could get really worked up. “I demanded he bring me here. It’s not his fault.”

Han shrugged off his outer cloak and slung it over Jaina’s shoulders before he directed the both of them to the large fire behind Ben and Rey’s seats. “Warm up, first. Jagged, take off that wet cloak.”

Jaina took a seat by the fireplace, Han’s cloak tucked firmly around her, the flickering flames bringing color back to her face. Jagged took a seat next to her, and immediately, as if on instinct, grabbed her hands and began rubbing them between his. Ben raised a brow at that but said nothing.

“Jagged was keeping me company while Jacen went to get me something to eat.”

Leia’s face brightened. “Your appetite is back?”

Jaina nodded but forged ahead. “We were discussing back home and how they treated the orphans in The Den.” She paused and shook her head. “The point is he spoke of prophecy layering.”

“All of this over prophecy layering?” Reyn scoffed. “Prophecy layering is nearly impossible to do. The prophecies become intermingled and collapse, often sending the caster and the subject into unbreakable comas. They become trapped in their visions.”

“That’s true,” Jaina said looking down, her teeth still clattering.

“Not quite,” Leia murmured, her finger on her chin as she thought, “That happens with non-mages. Most cases we hear are of the orphans in The Den because mage-blood children would be slowly trained to cast it, not experimented on. Non-mage blood children are more susceptible to collapse because there isn’t a connection, just a demand of _ovladaci prevek_.”

Reyn frowned. “How do you know something like that? Prophecy layering is regarded as a myth.”

Leia frowned “Because I’ve done it before.”

She walked over to the fireplace and squatted before her daughter. “While on the run, I had to share my mind to take control of someone and in order to protect any prophetic thoughts, even ones I didn’t know existed, and I had to layer them between false ones. Only certain mages can see the false ones from the real.” She took Jaina’s hands in hers. “What did you see?”

“T—the dark mage’s name is Nu'lema Rar—that was the only clear vision I received when she performed _ovladaci prevek_ and took control over my body. It was so terrible mother,” Jaina whispered. “The things she made me do to those poor men. They looked at me like they understood, and at first I couldn’t understand why they didn’t fight me. They were not restrained. But every time I touched one of them, I received vision after vision. The threats that had been made against the Alpha Prime’s life, why they were willing to give their lives to protect her. The one named Tionne actually apologized to me…”

Ben looked from his sister to the two from Takodana. Paige cursed under her breath and Finn looked like he could cry at any moment.

“In the echo of my screams, I could feel the layers in Nu'lema Rar mind. The first and last, I could tell was a lie. The Eternal Empire would never bow to Core while Vitae ruled. He would fall on his sword first. The last spoke of my parent’s death. Yet here you are, alive.”

“Good,” Leia said, calmly, her hands now on Jaina’s shoulder. “Now tell us of the central dream for it is the prophecy revealed.”

Jaina swiped at her nose with the back of her hand and sniffled. “There was a river of blood. Floating along it was a simple box made of five pieces of wood by two sets of hands.”

Ben frowned.

“It was a very strong box and has lasted for a very long time. Atop of the box were five stones markers. Each was engraved—Organa Major, Thykarann, Beskar, Andui’i, and Sui.”

“The ancient names of the five clans,” Poe murmured. “Alderann, Kashyyk, Mandalore, Takodana, and Endor.”

“Correct,” Jaina affirmed. “The box, constructed by two hands, was put together in a way to keep the insides safe, and keep the blood out.”

Finn leaned forward, cradling his chin in his hands. “So, inside the box are the five clans?”

“I believe so.”

“Tell them about the words, Jaina,” Jagged said, teeth still chattering.

“Words?” Leia asked.

Jaina nodded. “An inscription carved in the deepest red, as if it had let the blood seep into the cuts.”

“What did it say?”

Jaina looked past Ben to Paige who’d asked. She closed her eyes. “In the time of tribulation to come, there will be five—one divorced from noble blood will inhibit unending authority. One locked in grief will transmute loss into alliance. One will lose Order but gain freedom. Two will fall so that two may rise.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Nico exclaimed, lip hitched.

“The box is Core, Nico,” Julien explained, his eyes jutting back and forth as he thought. “Five by five, built by two pair of hands? The twenty five tribes of this land who came together to form Core, a clan collective created by Revan and Bastila Shan, correct? The five stones, as Poe pointed out, the five clans.”

Ben glanced at his sister and mother. “Are you sure this is the correct prophecy?”

“Prophecies are calculated guesses by the gods,” Leia murmured. “They don’t always have to come true. They just like to come true very much.”

Ben threw his hands in the air. “I am plagued but with two things, letters and prophecies! I’m sending you to Appenza Peak the moment you are well enough. We will need the Oracles help.”

“Did you see anything else?” Hux asked from his side of the table.

Jaina nodded, looking down at her hands.

“What?” Finn asked. When Jaina hesitated, Finn gave her a reassuring smile. “I know it’s hard to have that sort of...thing in your head. You don’t have to tell us if you’re not ready.”

Ben’s brow furrowed. He wanted the answer but he knew Finn was right. Jaina had just come back to them. They didn’t need to push her like this.

“It’s okay, Finny.” She returned his smile, directed a smile at Poe, too. “Opposite of the stones, submerged in the river of blood was—” She paused, inhaled, placed her shaking hands on her knees. “tIt was a word. Written in the Old Way.”

“Submerged in blood? While the rest of Core is above it? Sounds...morbid. Deleterious,” Reyn offered.

“It was the same two who fell from the prophecy.”

A look crossed over Leia’s face, an anxiety, as if she could read the word in Jaina’s spirit, in her aura. “My love...what was the word?”

Jaina squeezed her eyes shut, a tear falling down a pale cheek. “ _Divējāds_.”

Reyn froze, her eyes widening in horror. “Are you–are you sure?”

Jaina nodded again, jerky, sodden.

“What? What does that mean?” Finn tried, his anxiety seeming to crank up to match Leia and Reyn’s quickly.

“It means,” Reyn stated softly. “Dyad.”

Valkorion was not a patient man. He didn’t feel he had to be. An asshole is what they called him when they didn’t think he could hear. They’d be dead if he didn’t agree. Being nice was not something he had to be. Valkorion was a leader. To be a leader he had to be strong.

To be strong meant wealth.

That philosophy was exactly the reason why he was Vitiate, Emperor, He Without Question. An intelligent man who dabbled in dark ways.

And because of his rare intelligence, he was quickly able to realize when he was fast approaching an exit to a relationship that no longer served him. Relationships. He needed to part ways with many.

Snoke, a scoundrel in the eyes of the Zakuul court, stood before him. His friend, nothing more than a savage, and regrettably leader of the First Order, stood next to him, waiting. To do what? If it was to respond to that letter, they’d be waiting until the moon turned blue.

His head Advisor, Marr, stood one step below his golden throne platform, the letter his daughter sent him cradled on top of a silver platter. Silver. Just like the silver spoon he’d slipped in her mouth, only for her to spit it back out. Ungrateful brat.

“My lord, it has been over a week,” Marr said, his raspy worried tones echoing in the darkened chamber. “You should allow her to return home. As your heir–"

“Who said she couldn’t come back? Has she done something that would require permission to come back here? Oh! That’s right,” Valkorion yelled as poked a finger in Marr’s direction. “She mated with some curr without my leave! Tell me, Marr, how often do I suffer this sort of behavior?”

Marr head lowered minutely. “Not often, my lord.” He turned and placed the platter down. “Yet, The Spire has accepted it. To go against the council–—”

Valkorion threw a hand up to stop his stupid rambling. “They act as if I disinherited her. You tell them that they should worry about finding me more resources and less about my goddamn family!” His gaze arched over to Snoke and Gallius, “Leave us. I don’t want to keep my guest waiting all day. Your update?”

Snoke took the cue and approached the Zukuul throne. “My Lord Vitiate, as of now your treaty is still intact. I could not convince Rae Sloane to join our cause. But she is a valuable resource and one of the best, if not the best, tacticians in Core. I was thinking maybe something of a monetary persuasion could help.”

Valkorion steepled his fingers under his chin, the gold covered finger tips clinking together. “And why would I want to do that?”

Gallius frowned. “Because….because it’s _Rae Sloane_. And Endor’s manpower at our backs would do wonders for our campaign.”

“Rae Sloane is a friend of yours? Hard to believe you know her at all. Endor’s not going to fall in line because you gave them some gallivanting speech on friendship like some bleeding heart or threw money at them like they were whores eager to please you. Rae Sloane will respond to force. It’s how she has always operated.”

Snoke pinched the bridge of his nose. “She is apathetic towards unnecessary war and Hux holds unquestionable loyalty to Core with his mating complete to whom, might I add, holds _considerable_ power in Mandalore. Rose Tico was not only his First, but General to Poe’s entire Black Flame, Mandalore’s strongest military contingency. Attacking her mate’s clan will bring Mandalore onto our heads.”

Valkorion grinned. “Let them. The army I’ve allowed you to build is vast, the First Order are the most formidable mercenary group in all of Core, and now we have The Den on our side.”

“I’ve also been able to connect with some smaller militias out of Csilla,” Gallius pointed out, pacing back and forth. “Small but deadly. Feral wolves hold allegiance to no one as long as they can fight. For the last decade or so, they’ve been fighting one another. We’ll give them another reason to bare their fangs. ” Gallius stopped and Valkorion stared at him.

He didn’t like Gallius. Snoke was a reasonable strategist, but Gallius was smarter, sneakier. Gallius wanted the same position he desired. Valkorion chuckled internally. A fool.

“And that brings me to my request of the day,” Gallius said, taking a step towards Edison. “I need more money.”

Valkorion snorted. “Of course you do. For what?”

“I want to travel to the Bryx sector. Anzat, specifically.”

Edison’s felt his face hardened over and Snoke looked like he’d just swallowed his tongue. “I’m sorry,” Snoke said, trying to speak over his disbelief. “You want to travel _where_?”

“Anzat—Land of Silent Voices.”

“I know what fucking Anzat is but you can’t possibly be about to say what I think you’re going to say. Those animals, those beasts are uncontrollable! They answer to nothing but their own enslavement to luminescent gases! Gases! I would rather a wolf die before they suffer at their hands, or worse, be turned into one of those–those–those–”

“Vampyres,“ Valkorion finished for him. “And no. The answer is no. They _are_ uncontrollable. Anzat is one of the most dangerous places in these lands.”

Gallius shook his head. “We can lure the Hunters in—they are the best equipped at dealing with Vampyres, although it will be hard. They keep to themselves and will only comply with something beneficial to them. If not, we have Nu’Ruma Rar. Vampyres are simple creatures and she has shown me her complete control over them.”

Valkorion leaned forward. “She’s going to have to show it to me as well before I grant anything.” Valkorion sighed back into his seat. He was beginning to get a headache, the pain pulsing right over his eye. “You’re first plan of attack is Endor, am I correct?”

“Not quite,” Snoke said, taking over.

Edison’s face showed no surprise or annoyance, although he felt it. Their last discussion picked Endor as the focal attack point. Sighing, “Then where?”

Snoke's smile was slow, irritatingly slow, but confident. “To get to the heart of a beast, you must cut it open. You lure it out, strangle its defenses, and you stick your knife into its soul.”

Valkorion frowned. “Use less words, more meaning. I grow tired.”

“Gallius’ plan has merit. A war inside and a war out,” Snoke said, lowly, almost growling. “That is how we make Core ours.”

(Four months later)

Rey laid in their bed, shirtless, looking down at the slight swell in her abdomen. It still awed her every time she glanced down, bathed, felt the slight tug of clothes that used to fit perfectly.

Paige had taken to her role as her First fervently. All the things that Rey didn’t think to think of, Paige covered. She’d commissioned a tailor who had made her a set of robes that worked to grow with Rey as she grew but also designed in a way to hide her pregnancy as best as she could. Next, she’d brought in an architect who began transforming Rey’s former suite, now ensuite, into a nursery—it too, concealed by a temporary wall that would hide it from plain sight.

Her last task, completed this morning, rearranged the hierarchy of servants, demoting and promoting those over a range of reasons: Omega biases, penchant for gossip. Paige had painstakingly traced back each servant’s background and removed those who had even the faintest connection to the First Order, reassigning them to other quarters and having them duties separated from servants who served Rey in any capacity. She did the same with the guards.

Paige had created a bubble and stood in front of it, wild, teeth bared, like a protective mother guarding her cub. She’d be forever grateful.

She sighed, emotional at the thought and it jostled Ben, who had his head on Rey’s lap, a small hand drawn map of Core in his hands. His gaze flicked up to her, a smile on his lips, before returning to his task.

Without hesitation, all of the clans in Core had signed their new treaty, even Dathomir. Other settlements, such as Avaal, had acknowledged the treaty, and Rey knew it would be only a matter of time before Ambassador Liu would convince them to put their signature to paper. As they reached out to clans beyond their borders, it was their hope that they would find themselves with a larger territory, one that the First Order and those that supported them couldn’t combat.

The one thing that had stumped them was the quietness of the First Order and the emergence of a group who labeled themselves Iustus. Vaylin claims they are connected to Zakuul. Of course, Valkorion denied this, claiming they were merely merchants; Core had no jurisdiction meddling in their books. Vaylin had actually rolled her eyes at her father’s missive, then gently suggested they split their focus between watching the faint movement of the First Order and finding a way to learn more about _Iustus._

“What are you thinking about?”

Rey looked down at Ben. He’d abandoned the map and tilted his head towards her. His words were soft and so was the look in his eyes.

“I’m thinking of a lot of things.”

“Are any of them me?”

Rey smiled. “You are always on my mind, so even when they are not, you linger.”

“If it’s not me then what is it?”

“I’m starting to show,” she said quietly.” Her hand travelled over the swell in her stomach.

The laws had not changed. Rey was still living an illegal lifestyle. The prophecy could not save her from her lies. If so, The Oracles would have revealed it, despite Ben’s threats.

Treason against Core, against her Alpha, against nature. Ben could scream and claw and fight against it, but it would never change what Rey had done. She was sure Core would let their child live, but they would never be recognized as Ben’s legacy. They would be considered a bastard, to be shunned and held beneath the boot of ridicule for their entire lives.

She didn’t want that for her child. She did not want that for Ben. The fear that welled up in her when she thought about her family suffering plagued her nightly.

Ben’s hand traveled up her leg, over her hip and up her stomach to cover Rey’s. Instinctively, Ben tapped into their bond, sending out as much soothing energy as he could.

“We will think of something, love. We will.”

Rey bit her bottom lip to keep the tears from falling. Gods, she hated hormones. “I can’t hide this forever.”

Leia and Red thought she should leave Core all together, which she couldn’t. They were at war, for Force’s sake! Rey was Core’s Alpha Prime. Her presence was noted and so would her absence. Red had been adamant that her decision was foolish, to the point of anger.

_“Your duty is to protect Core. Precious, precious Core. Yes. But it is also your duty to survive! Is it not better to leave and return later, than to stay and die because of Core’s archaic, unshifting, unyielding laws?”_

“Have you spoken to Red? I mean...privately?” Ben asked, as if Rey’s thoughts have flowed through the bond. Ben always spoke of Red, uneasily. Even when he’d formally introduced them, he was brief and cutting.

“Red. Mage from Dathomir. Knows my mom. Best friends, forever. If she wants to tell you more, she will. I won’t tell her story,” he’d said, his tone almost nasty. Red rolled her eyes and shoved a sandwich she’d made for him in his face and that was the end of learning anything about her.

“Not since her last visit. She keeps asking me to leave, which I refuse to do.” Rey paused, tensed. This caused Ben to infuse her with more of his energy, which she appreciated but it wouldn’t calm her down. Not about this. Her and your mother did offer up the solution. I don’t like it…but it might work…”

“A new plan?” Ben said, hope washing over his face like warm ocean spray.

“Yes.” She inhaled deeply, taking his face between her hands. “You’ll have to take an Omega lover.”

The soothing pulses spiked, turing prickly, then cut off, replaced by tension that tasted green in the back of Rey’s mouth. “I’m _not_ doing that,” he said, sitting up, shoulders tense. “I am not taking another lover. I don’t want another love. I just want you.”

Rey huffed out a laugh. “Ben, this isn’t about your vows!” She reached for Ben’s hand, smiling faintly when his presence radiated over her skin once again. “Put your promises to me aside.”

“You’re not supposed to put vows aside. That’s why they are vows.”

“Ben, I know how this works. Alphas take outside lovers all the time. This is no different.”

“I do not want anyone else,” he said between clenched teeth. And oh, he was getting upset.

She tried a different tactic. She tugged on his hand, pulling him closer. Like it was a silent command, he shifted until he was straddling her legs, his face hovering near hers. “This isn’t about you, love. Not your morals or your sweet, noble heart. It’s about us. I want to grow old with you, Ben. I want to walk hand and hand with you into the eternal caves. I want to live my life at your side. I _love_ you.”

Ben raised Rey’s hand and laid a kiss across her knuckles. “I love you, too.”

“I know…and that’s why you must take an Omegan lover. You must lay with them.”

“I don’t—”

Rey shook her head. “Pregnancy can’t happen, of course, but she must carry your scent and she has to be recognized as a flesh tribute. You’ll have to lay with her. As long as they believe that our child came from her womb. I…” Rey’s mind began to work as Leia’s and Red ’s solution started to make more sense. “I can make myself scarce. Maybe spend a few months in Takodana? As long as you stay here and I stay there, as long as I’m still in Core, as long as people know I’m still in Core—”

“I don’t want to be like my father,” Ben admitted quietly. “I don’t want to have to make the decisions he had to make.” He then brought both of Rey’s hands to his forehead. “I don’t want to be apart from you.”

“It’s a three day ride, Ben. You can come visit. No, you have to visit. I won’t be able to stand it. I can’t wait to show you Takodana! There is so much to explore, much more than those official visits could afford us. There is a passage in the middle of our petrified forest. Ben... we have a petrified forest and it leads to—well. You’ll find out. But, Benjamin, my love, you have to stay here…with your Omega.”

“You are _my_ Omega, and you are carrying _my_ child.”

“Search your mind, Ben. Can you come up with a better solution than this?” Rey released Ben’s hands, only to cradle his head between her hands, her thumbs caressing his cheek. “It’s only one night.”

Ben blinked up at her and Rey could see the war raging behind his eyes. Rey would help him. She would help him put his feelings aside and she would help him make the right decision.

“Do it for me. Do it for the child that lies within me. Protect us, Ben.”

Ben rushed forward and threw his hands around Rey’s neck, burrowing in the warmth of her neck. “Rey, sweetheart, I—”

“It’s the only way,” Rey said, her voice heavy with finality. “Plus, it would be selfish to keep you all to myself. You’re a very good lover, Ben. I’ve taught you well.”

Ben pulled back and looked at her. The conflict in his eyes was beginning to morph into something else. “Oh, is that right? Because of you?” His hands traveled down Rey’s sides to the strings holding her pants up.

“Of course,” Rey breathed, watching the path Ben’s hand was traveling. “You were so clumsy when we met, now look at you.”

“Look at you, teaching me. The perfect better half for me.” Ben paused, his fingers still tense with tugging on her drawstring. “Rey?”

“Yes, Ben?”

“If you ask this of me, I will do it. I’d do anything to protect you. Anything,” he whispered as he began to nibble along Rey’s chin. “Anything.”

Rey sunk her hands in Ben’s hair and moaned as his hand slipped under the waistband and between her legs. “I know.”

Tonight was the night.

“Are you okay with this decision?”

Rey looked up from the list of names from the High Eunuch Finn had reluctantly handed to her last week. They had opted out of choosing anyone from Core proper, so only high born Omegas from the neighboring clans had been looked at. The first was a village named Elypsion, a tropical swampy region far south of them. Siv had offered a few from Celon, a sister village of Mthunzi. Julien had suggested his younger cousin Inoue–she lacked ambition and was a little dull headed and according to him, the perfect candidate. She was ultimately turned down because the High Eunuch did not want to involve Rey’s extended family into this situation, a decision Rey agreed with.

In the end they’d chosen Mitaka’s suggestion of the Omega from the Nee clan within the Bryx sector, by the name of Yejin, considered a Princess by her clan of Vampyre hunters. No one in Core dealt with the Vampyre clans but it was well known that Bryx hunters were the reason that none had ever ventured into their territories.

Yejin was a perfect candidate. Her bloodline was prestigious despite her village’s meager wealth. They were fighters, trained from birth, and remained hunters until they died. From the stories Rey had heard of Vampyres, keeping them contained required lifelong servitude to their destruction.

Plus, she heard Yejin was one of the most beautiful women alive.

So to answer Red’s question, yes, she was okay with the decision. She still didn’t like it.

“She seems very suitable. She has her own power back in Bryx and a connection to Core would boost it there. Even if the goal wasn’t for her to conceive, her title as a flesh tribute would settle another alliance. The more alliances, the better.” Rey looked away. “She’ll be here soon.”

Red came further into the room and took a seat. By this time, even though her constant, near smothering presence always rang strange to him, Rey began to get used to it, the feeling almost warm and motherly. Familiar. Red felt familiar.

“It’s the only way,” she murmured as she tucked an errant strand of hair behind Rey’s ear.

Rey nodded and slid the paper away from her, tired of looking at it and turned her attention to Red. She was a very pretty woman, lovely tanned skin, the same freckled spots across her nose, much like Coridander’s. They favored slightly because of it but Red lacked the fire that Coriander had in her eyes. Something sad reflected back in her brown eyes. It was one of the things that made Rey trust her.

“You’re from Dathomir, like Ben’s mother?”

Red smiled warmly. “We practically grew up together.”

“So you can do that mage thing like Jacen and Jaina, huh?”

“The mage thing,” Red chuckled. “Yeah, I can. I’m an Alpha magi, so I’m not as strong as them and definitely not as strong as Leia. In Dathomir, Omega magi are stronger than Alpha magi. She’s amazing but I can still kick Leia’s ass, so it makes us even.”

“Don’t let her hear you say that,” Rey said, laughing. “She and Finn have been arguing for _weeks_ but it was especially nasty this morning. It was about the baby. Finn wants to commission a new house built for me in Takodana, while Leia thinks Mandalore would be better for some odd reason. Everyone seems excited…”

“Are you not?” Red asked, tilting her head to look at her.

“I think I’ve been more trouble to Core than I’m worth.”

“And,” Red tapped her chin, “I don’t have to tell you that is a lie, right?”

Rey sighed. “I’m just thankful I mated into a family that cares so much, to a man who cares so much. It was well within his rights to cast me aside when he found out but…he cared. This child will be such a joy. I sometimes wish my family was alive to see it. To see my father’s eyes light up or see the joy in my sister’s eyes. Even my mother.” Rey grabbed Red’s hands. “She had the longest hair imaginable! Coriander told me it almost swept the floor when she walked. And my father, he would get this look in his eyes whenever he talked about her. He said she looked like an angel.”

“You don’t remember what she looked like, do you?”

“I remember her smile…faintly. I feel like such a terrible daughter, to not remember my mother’s face.”

A look flashed in Red’s eyes and she looked away, her gaze now out of the window. “How was it…you know, being without her?”

Rey deflated a bit, sagging in her chair. “Hard. Others had mothers and I didn’t and I didn’t understand why, what that meant. It became bearable after a while. Coriander was the best, she really was. But then—well, they were all gone. Those years were the hardest, having to assume responsibility for a village by myself. Keeping my status hidden from those damned First Order miscreants. If it weren't for Tionne I don’t know what I would have done.”

“So you felt alone?”

Rey’s smile felt heavy, like she was tired of keeping it in place. “You could say that.”

Red reached for her hand, her mouth craning open to say something when the door to the room opened, banging back against the wall. Leia and Finn flooded into the Dyad Suite, both holding a piece of fabric.

“Rey, solve this for us, would you? Finn wants to decorate the baby’s room in lavender,” Leia said, glaring at Finn’s swatch of fabric, “but think about this,” Leia said as she shoved her piece of fabric towards Rey. “ _Vermillion_.”

“It’s a child’s bedroom, not a war council chamber, Leia.”

“Red is the color of love.”

“Blood is also red. Lavender is soft and comforting and if the child is going to have a grandmother like you, they’ll need all the calm and comfort they can get.”

Leia gasped, her fabric bunching up in her hands. “You take that back, you son of a toad!”

“Salamander,” Finn intoned, one brow raised and a hand on his hips. “Get it right.”

Leia snarled at Finn, her mouth parted obviously to rip Finn a new one when she glanced over to Rey. “Are we interrupting something?” Her gaze dropping to her and Red’s joined hands. “Oh, hell, we are.”

Rey chuckled. “No…I was just telling Red about my mother.”

“O–-oh, oh!” Leia said, her face red and her brows almost to her hairline. “Your mother! Wow. That’s–thats...” She stopped and spun on her heels towards Finn. “Well…we should go, then, right, Finnie?”

“Don’t _ever_ call me that again,” Finn said, his features pinched. “And yes, let’s go,” he agreed, his eyes narrowed and pointed in Red’s direction. “Hopefully, _someone_ will have the courage to be honest.”

“Nope!” Red said, standing, her smile bright and creepily wide. “I’m going to go get Rey something to drink. You’re thirsty, right? Right. Of course you are.” She sped for the door, her long hair fluttering behind her.

“Before you go, _Red_ , there is something I would like to say about Rey’s mother,” Leia said, eyeing her.

“You knew my mother?”

Leia smiled. “I knew a lot of people in Core.” She placed her piece of fabric in Finn’s hands and crossed the room, crouching in front of her. “We’re all so very proud of you, Rey, and we are thankful you are a part of our family. I knew if your mother was here, she would say the same thing.” She paused and ran her fingers through her hair, the caress soft and oh, so motherly. That, combined with her words, made an emotion well up deep inside of her. “She loved you very much and she had so much pride in you. You were her little magnificent gem.”

Rey tried really hard to blink away her tears but failed, one escaping and rolling down her cheek. “Thank you,” she said quietly.

Leia stood and kissed her forehead. “You’re welcome, baby girl.” She glanced at Finn once, who rolled his eyes but couldn’t help the faint smile on his lips. “Yes. Let’s all go get Rey something to drink. Tonight’s going to be a long night for her.”

Yejin had never been to Core. Most of her people never stepped out of the Bryx settlement, never seen past the Nee villages. It wasn’t as if they didn’t want to travel—Yejin dreamed of roaming the countryside, visiting other clans, learning their cultures and ways. But that was not her destiny. She was a noble of the Nee clan, a clan charged with keeping Mid Rim free of the Anzati. She could never leave. Bryx—needed her. Her fate, her duty was set as so.

That was until she was offered up as a flesh tribute. So when she and her retinue stepped into the famed Great Hall of the Fortress, she felt as if her next breath had been stolen. Bryx was composed of shabby huts and strongholds—it was their way, they had no money to live lavishly, and over the centuries had lost the desire to do so. Most clan business was held in the Chief’s hut, more mud than brick and mortar. The Great Hall, in comparison, was _monstrous_ in size and glamour. The glistening stone floor stretched wide and long, the walls high, the space vast. To think that, in other circumstances, she could live here amazed Yejin.

As she looked across the Great Hall, she laid eyes on who she was to be given to–The Supreme Alpha of Core, Benjamin Amidala Organa Solo.

“He is _splendid_ ,” she whispered to Fatima, the High Priestess of Nee and Yejin’s second in command. Fatima lied often, exaggerating from the few times she was allowed outside of Bryx but on this, her words were true.

“I told you,” Fatima hissed back. “He is everything a shifter should be. You are a lucky girl, Ye-Ye.”

Yejin continued to look at him from his wide shoulders and powerful looking thighs to a face that seemed chiseled from stone but soft to the touch.

She’d never been with an Alpha before.

Yet as fine as he was, her gaze couldn’t help but stray to the Alpha Prime, Rey of Takodana. She...she was _beautiful_ , her beauty raw and wild, and it was breathtaking to look at her.

Out of the entirety of Nee clan leadership, Yejin had been the only one in on the Dyad couples’ ruse. Bryx, including Fatima, believed they were offering a flesh tribute. Yejin knew she was offering herself up as the key to an alliance.

She’d been told this information under the pain of strict confidence and death by Core’s fourth in command, Hux of Endor. He did a lot of snarling and growling so Yejin was apt to believe he was telling the truth. Tonight, she was to lay with the Supreme. From there, she would fake a pregnancy and upon birth, hand over “a child”. _That’s their plan, at least._ When she asked about what stage Rey was in, Hux waved her question away.

_Let us worry about that. You just need to be in place. In return, we will offer an alliance with Bryx and the Nee clan will officially become a clan of Core._

Yes. If it were only just that.

The Dyad couple stepped down from their place on their throne and approached, bringing the High Eunuch with them. _Mitaka_. As they drew closer, Fatima took a step forward, her dark orange cloak swaying with her steps.

“Greetings, Ben and Rey, Great Leaders of Core.” Fatima bowed, her knees touching the floor. I am Fatima, _Priestess_ of the Nee clan of Bryx. We have travelled, with pleasure and perseverance, to be before you tonight. We pray that you will accept our appearance tonight as a willingness to form an alliance between your great clan and our humble one.”

Ben nodded. “We deeply appreciate your expeditiousness in arrival and we hope your stay will be a good one. We have prepared accommodations for you and your guests.”

“Very good, my lord. Yejin,” Fatima called, looking behind her. Yejin inhaled, straightened as if a string had been pulled through her spine. She stepped forward and slowly lowered the hood of her cloak. She knew her looks were slightly unique for Core and Bryx standards; she looked Dathomirian –tanned skin, light colored eyes, dark hair. She knew this was one of the reasons she had been chosen. Although she was of a different race with a deeper complexion, she knew she favored the Alpha Prime’s appearance in enough ways that counted.

“Greetings. I am Yejin, a noble of the hunter clan in Bryx.” Her eyes flashed at Ben but landed on Rey. “I hope that I meet every one of your expectations.” Her gaze locked with hers for a long moment before she looked at Ben again.

“Our home is your home,” Rey said, her face warm and accepting but Yejin couldn’t help but notice the sadness in her aura, the scent wafting from her blood. She could understand that.

Mitaka stepped forward, his arm extended. “I will show you to your rooms. After you’re settled, Yejin, you will first join Rey for tea before we...begin.”

Yejin nodded. She knew that she would have to gain Rey’s final approval, despite their knowledge of the situation. If Rey did not accept her, she was as good as dead and everything would fail.

Bowing one last time to their welcoming party, Yejin and her retinue followed the High Eunuch out of the Great Hall and down the hall towards the guest suite. The other eunuchs appeared\, helping the others into their rooms before Mitaka led her to the large guest quarters at the end of the hall.

As she entered the room, she was greeted by someone who was already waiting for her.

“I hope your trip wasn’t too taxing.”

Yejin tried to hide her long suffering sigh under her breath but bowed out of respect nonetheless. She righted herself up and looked at her guest, wondering how he made it this far into The Fortress without someone noticing. She’d been through the several checkpoints and although she was not of Core, it was obvious that the security was tight.

“You look lovely as ever, Yejin.”

She smiled at Dal Konur. “I appreciate my Lord’s compliments,” she stated simply and dryly.

“Save the formalities,” Mitaka snapped, glaring between the two. “We don’t have much time before the Dyad Pavilion requests Yejin’s presence. Did Bazine give you the elixir, Dal Konur?”

Dal Konur rolled his eyes and tossed the vial. “Of course she did. What? Did you think I left it at home while I was scratching my ass?

“Who knows what you do anymore. I’m not sure why you’re still involved since you allowed that old fossil to challenge you on your position and take it. It took a lot for Snoke to get you that position, you know? Wasted. Just wasted!”

Dal Konur shrugged. “I never desired to be Alpha of Alderaan. I’m not even sure I put up a good fight. But I am still not useless. I have power there.”

“A commander of an army you can’t control. Yeah, sure,” Mitaka said.

“Sometimes, the way you question my dedication to duty and sense irks me Mitaka.” Dal Konur pouted. “You should be nicer to me.”

“Eat my ass,” the eunuch snarled.

Dal Konur cocked his head to the side and gave Mitaka a thorough glance up and down, his grin a touch wolfish. “Are you offering?”

“Could you please, just for once, not?” Mitaka started before he spun back towards Yejin. “The Alpha Prime has been subjected to Bazine’s poisons before so this one is a little bit stronger.”

Yejin looked up, the word “stronger” making her frown.

“Relax. It won’t harm her or her child,” Dal Konur said, giving her a look as if her concern was ridiculous. “It will simply put her to sleep. It’s easier to storm a castle if the defender is unconscious. Death means more guards.”

“Be alert,” Mitaka added. “You won’t have much of an opportunity to slip this to Rey. Be aware, be wise, and be quiet. Make sure Fatima doesn’t know more than what she should. Make no mentions of war. Just of the sleeping potion. ”

“I understand,” Yejin replied.

“When you hear the alarms in the morning know that is your cue to slip out.”

“I understand,” Yejin repeated.

“And remember,” Mitaka stated, “you do your part and you will have a place in Gallius’s court and Bryx will be left alone during this war. Any mishaps and we will have no choice but to require your allegiance in this fight. But we trust you. It’s the least we can do for a noble such as yourself.”

Yejin squared her shoulder and looked Mitaka in the eye. “I understand.”

“Don’t let us down.”

“Never, my lord.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the purposes of this fic, Chiss and Dathomir are two sides of the same coin: Mage clans, who are antagonistic towards each other because of differing belief systems. 
> 
> [ Prophecy of The Five ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Prophecy_of_the_Five#:~:text=The%20Prophecy%20of%20the%20Five,thing%20was%20built%20between%20them)
> 
> [ Anzat> Anzat](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Anzat_\(species\)) I know they Anzat aren't actual vampires in the traditional sense but they will be today!
> 
> [ Bryx Sector ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Bryx_sector%0Ahttps://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Nirauan/Legends)

**Author's Note:**

> SO MANY THINGS.


End file.
